BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has received his coveted Washington date. The White House confirmed late Monday that President Trump would host the coup-installed former army chief in the Oval Office on Oct. 3.
The news met with mixed reaction in Thailand. Mr. Prayuth and his aides say the invitation confirms the prestige and legitimacy of the government and its new constitution, while opposition parties and rights organizations warned that it could accelerate the erosion of democracy and civil liberties in a longtime U.S. ally.
“Prayuth and the generals crave legitimacy, particularly from the U.S. and [European Union], who have criticized revolving-door coups and governments in Thailand over the past 10 years,” Paul Quaglia, a former CIA officer in Bangkok, said in an interview.
Human Rights Watch denounced the invitation, saying Mr. Trump has “shamelessly thrown human rights considerations out the window.”
Mr. Trump extended the invitation to Mr. Prayuth in a phone call in April, but it took months to settle on a date. The Trump administration also has made moves to thaw the diplomatic and security tensions that characterized bilateral relations under President Obama.
Speaking to reporters in Bangkok on Tuesday, Mr. Prayuth said the two leaders would discuss “security, trade and investment, and regional problems” in what he expects to be a “cordial climate,” according to the Agence France-Presse news service.
Mr. Trump also has invited firebrand Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to the White House, but the dates for that visit have not been officially announced.
Analysts said the invitations signal a shift in U.S. policy in Asia under Mr. Trump, including a greater willingness to work on the security front with figures such as Mr. Prayuth and Mr. Duterte to fight terrorism and to stand up to China.
“For the U.S., this reflects an attempt to tilt Thailand back as a close ally, [which it was] prior to the 2014 coup and away from China,” Paul Chambers, a Naresuan University lecturer in Southeast Asian studies, said in an interview.
The agenda next week probably will include weapons sales to Thailand and an expansion of the annual Cobra Gold military exercises, Mr. Chambers said. Thailand’s bilateral trade surplus with the U.S. — which hit $19 billion last year — and intellectual property protections also may be discussed, he said.
Mr. Prayuth led a 2014 coup that toppled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s elected civilian government and participated in a 2006 putsch that overthrew her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra.
Today, Mr. Prayuth is widely seen as successfully muffling the Shinawatra siblings’ huge number of supporters.
Mr. Prayuth, who retired as army chief in 2014, wields powers that grant him and his junta legal immunity while banning political activity, free speech and other basic rights. Mr. Prayuth has repeatedly promised elections, but they have now been pushed back to next year or possibly 2019.
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