FM:U-tapao issue will not affect Thai-American relations

BANGKOK, Juen 20 (TNA) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says although the Thai Cabinet has not yet approved a request by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to use Thailand's U-tapao military airport for climate studies, Thai-American relations will remain intact but an opportunity for Thailand's academic development has been deferred. The ministry acknowledged today that external pressures have prompted the Thai Cabinet to postpone its consideration on the issue and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has formed a committee to study the issue carefully. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Thani Thongpakdi, who is also director-general of the ministry's Department of Information, said that the NASA's project was based on its fiscal planning; so, if the Thai Cabinet did not approve the project within the NASA's deadline, there would not be any serious problem but Thailand would only defer an opportunity for the development of its academic expertise and weather forecasts. According to the spokesman, concerned parties have discussed the NASA project several rounds and considered all aspects of concerns. In the latest discussion on June 18, Premier Yingluck and concerned authorities saw the academic benefits of the project and formed a committee to coordinate it. Besides, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs has concluded that the NASA project does not require a parliamentary approval under Section 190 of Thailand's 2007 Constitution because it does not concern national sovereignty and the Council of State will also have a ruling on the matter soon. The spokesman noted that the NASA project is separate from another one to set up the regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Center at the U-tapao Airport, in which disaster relief operations in the region have been accommodated. The Thai government in 2010 proposed the regional mission of the U-tapao airport to a joint meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN and the 27-member European Union or EU in Vietnam and received support. Since then Thailand has discussed the idea with the Unites States and has also proposed that the US-developed center welcome participation by other countries, but details of the project have not yet been finalized. The senior Thai official denied that the new NASA project is aimed at seeking the US visa for exiled ex-Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in return, insisting that Thaksin’s trips are personal businesses and his ministry has never ordered any favor for the ousted premier's travels. (TNA)