VISIT TO THAILAND OF OSD ASIA PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 000502

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PACOM FOR FPA HUSO
OSD FOR BRIGADIER GENERAL TOOLAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2008
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM MARR PTER TH
SUBJECT: VISIT TO THAILAND OF OSD ASIA PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR
BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN TOOLAN


Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce. Reason 1.4 (a and d)


1. (C) Summary. During his meetings with Thai officials,
OSD Asia Director Brigadier General Toolan provided Thai
military and civilian officials with Washington's perspective
on the September 19 coup, underscoring our desire that
Thailand rescind martial law and maintain timetables for
drafting a new constitution and holding elections. Thai
officials emphasized that martial law was not actually being
exercised on a day-to-day basis but was necessary to allow
the military to quickly respond to situations threatening
national security or stability. General Toolan also asked
for continued assistance in resettlement for North Korean
asylum seekers. Thai National Security Council Secretary
General Prakit Prachonpachanuk indicated that Thailand would
continue to assist with the current cases of DPRK refugees
but cautioned that Thailand has strict immigration laws and
does not wish to become a conduit for North Koreans seeking
asylum in the United States. MFA officials also asked that
the United States keep Thai cooperation on resettlement out
of the media. Royal Thai Supreme Command officials believe
that present problems between Thailand and Singapore will not
affect Thailand's military relations with Singapore. End
Summary.

GIVING THE THAI THE WASHINGTON PERSPECTIVE


2. (C) January 20-23 Brigadier General John A. Toolan, Jr.,
Principal Director for Asia & Pacific Affairs at the Office
of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense visited Thailand.
In a dinner at the Ambassador's residence, Toolan explained
to NSC Secretary General Prakit Prachonpachanuk, LTG Naraset
Isrankura of MOD's Office of Planning and LTG Niphat
Thonglek, Director of Thailand's Neighboring Country Border
Coordination Center, the seriousness with which Washington
policy makers view events in Thailand. Toolan and the
Ambassador explained our desire that Thailand not let key
milestones slip in drafting a new Constitution and holding
elections and noted how difficult it is to understand
Thailand's continued implementation of martial law. Prakit
assured Toolan that the order to rescind martial law in most
of the country would be signed by the King "any day now."
Naraset went on to explain that martial law in Thailand was
far less "dramatic" than it seems to those in the West. He
noted that troops are not deployed in public and that martial
law has no impact on everyday life. Naraset said that
Thailand needed to have the ability to call in military units
to respond to crises like bombings or school burnings since
the military has special skills that the police do not. He
likened martial law to a fire extinguisher that might not be
needed but was necessary insurance to prevent a crisis.

RAISING DPRK REFUGEES


3. (C) Drawing on talking points provided in Washington,
Toolan expressed to NSC Secretary General Prakit our
appreciation for Thailand's cooperation with the U.S. on the
protection and resettlement of North Korean asylum seekers
and the importance we place on helping to resettle DPRK
refugees in the United States. Toolan asked for continued
cooperation with the Thai on this issue and noted that we
would likely continue to seek assistance in handling future
cases. Prakit noted how Thailand was working closely with
the Embassy on a number of DPRK refugee cases right now but
explained that Thailand was being inundated with refugees
from Burma, Laos and North Korea. He emphasized that
Thailand has strict immigration laws and wishes to avoid
becoming a conduit for DPRK refugees transiting through
China, Laos or Burma. He gave no indication that Thailand
would welcome more North Korean refugees, irrespective of
their ultimate destination. On January 23, Toolan made
similar points to MFA American and South Pacific Affairs
Director General Nongnuth Phetcharatana. Nongnuth echoed
Prakit's concern that Thailand not become a magnet for North
Koreans and added that, irrespective of what happens,
Thailand would like to keep its cooperation out of the media
so as to avoid stirring up domestic criticism from Thai who
believe the money the RTG spends to care for refugees would
be better spent caring for poor Thai.

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COUNTER TERRORISM COOPERATION


4. (C) General Toolan toured the Thai Counter Terrorist
Operations Center (CTOC) under the command of LTG Tanasak
Patimapragorn. Tanasak explained the importance of U.S.
training and equipment to enable the Thai to set up an
interagency planning and operations center and terrorism
response force. Tanasak appreciated State Department and DOD
sponsored courses that had helped his unit improve its
ability to respond to IEDs, conventional or WMD attacks. He
told General Toolan that he understood why U.S. coup
sanctions had suspended the delivery of vests, weapons and
communications gear for a Thai counter terrorism team but
appreciated continued U.S. assistance in training Thai to
counter IEDs and other threats. Tanasak noted the new
streamlined authority under which CTOC will operate in the
future. In normal times, CTOC is under the direct control of
the Royal Thai Supreme Commander. However, once the NSC
Secretary General declares a crisis a terrorist incident,

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CTOC will fall under the direct command of the Prime Minister
and be allowed to control directly special police and
military units. This authority, coupled with a modernized
command center, will, in Tanasak's view, allow Thailand to
respond more effectively to terrorist incidents.

ROYAL THAI SUPREME COMMAND


5. (C) General Songkitti Jaggabbatara, Chief of Joint Staff
at Royal Thai Supreme Command, explained to General Toolan
the Thai military's desire to maintain close relations with
the United States during the period in which many military
programs are suspended in response to the coup. In response
to General Toolan's briefing on U.S. concern over civil
liberties and a quick return to an elected government,
Songkitti explained that Thailand, unlike Malaysia or
Singapore, does not have an Internal Security Act which could
allow the military to respond immediately to a domestic
emergency. Absent such an Act, which Songkitti believes
might be enacted in a few months once the expanded
interagency Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) is
fully functional, the only legal mechanism Thailand has to
permit the military to use its capabilities to respond to
violence is martial law. Songkitti repeated the points
Naraset had made that martial law in Thailand should not be
interpreted as having armed soldiers on every street corner.
Songkitti also told Toolan that the present row with
Singapore over former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's meetings there
will not hurt Thai-Singapore military relations. Songkitti
said that Singapore will participate in Cope Tiger and plans
to participate in Cobra Gold. Songkitti also told Toolan
that he intends to meet with UN officials in New York in late
January to discuss PKO operations. While in the United
States, Songkitti hopes to visit CENTCOM in Tampa to discuss
U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and meet with the
Thai military liaison officer attached to CENTCOM.

THE FOREIGN MINISTRY


6. (C) DG Nongnuth at MFA noted the importance of continued
U.S. military engagement in Thailand and Southeast Asia,
saying that American influence was needed to counter growing
influence from "other regional powers." Nongnuth predicted
that the Constitutional Drafting Committee will draw up a new
Constitution within six months and that the Thai electorate
will endorse it shortly thereafter. She also expressed
confidence that an open general election will be held once
the new Constitution is in place. Nongnuth noted the
symbolic importance of the Cobra Gold exercise, mentioning
how U.S., Thai, Japanese, Indonesian and Singaporean
cooperation in the exercise was good for the entire region.
She told General Toolan that the RTG hopes Washington will
agree to permit the exercise to proceed. Turning to the
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI),Nongnuth reiterated
the Thai position that Thailand will endorse PSI once
Malaysia and Indonesia do, but asked the United States to
help educate Thai agencies on what PSI means. She
specifically asked that Thai agencies be invited to attend
PSI seminars or workshops as observers.

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TOUR OF STRATEGIC FACILITIES


7. (C) Brigadier General Toolan also toured key Thai port
facilities. At Utapao Naval Air Station, he was briefed on
how that facility was vitally important to making Operation
Unified Assistance a success and is presently used more than
70 times per month to support U.S. aircraft including planes
moving to and from Afghanistan and Iraq. Recently, PACOM
designated Utapao as the most important Cooperative Security
Location (CSL) in the Asia-Pacific region. At Sattahip Naval
Base, he toured Thai facilities used by the USN during our
annual CARAT exercise. At Laem Chabang commercial port, he
saw the berthing facilities where the U.S. aircraft carriers
USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Kitty Hawk docked during ship
visits in 2006, and at Samaesan he toured the U.S.
constructed facility used by Thai and U.S. SEALs for counter
terrorism and special operations exercises in the Gulf of
Thailand.
BOYCE