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1 1 (December 13, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govxyq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Thailand: Background and U.S. Relations Overview Thailand is a long-time military ally and economic partner of the United States. Despite these enduring ties, more than a decade of political turmoil in Thailand, including two military coups, in 2006 and 2014, has complicated U.S.- Thai relations and erased Thailand's image as a model democracy in Southeast Asia. In October 2016, Thailand's political landscape was further rattled when Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn became the country's new sovereign. He succeeded his widely revered father, King Bhumiphol Adulyadej, who was, when he died, the world's longest reigning monarch and considered a stabilizing force. Thailand has been run by a military government since the 2014 coup, and its leaders, under Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, have rewritten Thailand's constitution in ways that protect the military's political influence in the future. Many observers have criticized the regime's human rights record, including its harassment of government critics and restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. After more than four years of military rule, the government has called for nationwide elections on February 24, 2019, and lifted some of the harshest restrictions on assembly for the campaign, but many believe the political changes of recent years will limit the nation's return to democracy. The United States suspended security assistance to Thailand after the 2014 coup as required by law, but many other aspects of the U.S.-Thai military relationship remain, including the annual Cobra Gold military exercise, the largest multilateral exercise in Asia. The United States continues to provide non-security aid to the country, and maintains regional offices for many U.S. programs at the Embassy in Bangkok. As one of the region's more developed nations, Thailand has the potential to support U.S. initiatives in the region, such as broadening regional defense cooperation. However, Bangkok's domestic problems and the resulting damage to U.S.-Thai relations have diminished opportunities for new bilateral coordination. An October 2017 visit by Prayuth to Washington, DC, which included a meeting with President Trump, produced little concrete result, although it indicated that the Trump Administration hopes to maintain steady relations with the military regime. Thai and's Political Crisis Thailand's political turmoil has involved a broad clash between the nation's political establishment (a mix of the military, royalists, senior bureaucrats, and many urban and middle class citizens) and backers of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in the 2006 coup and who resides overseas. Thaksin was popular, particularly with the rural poor, because of his populist policies-some of which have been adopted by the military regime. Yet, Updated December 13, 2018 Thaskin was, and still is, a divisive figure, and his critics accuse him of corruption and human rights abuses. Since 2001, Thaksin and his supporters have won all six national elections, but their leaders have repeatedly been removed from office, either by military coup or court order. (The 2014 coup deposed an acting prime minister after Thaksin's sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted from the premiership by a Constitutional Court decision that many observers saw as politically motivated.) During this period of instability, Thailand has seen numerous large-scale demonstrations, and some have turned violent. In 2010, clashes over several weeks killed 80 civilians in Bangkok. Capital: Bangkok Size: Slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming Population: 68.4 million (July 2017 est.) Infant Mortality: 9.2 deaths/I.000 live births Fertility Rate: 1.5 children born/woman (U.S. = I.87) GDP (official exchange rate): $437.8 billion (2016 est.) GDP per capita (PPP): $17,800 (2017 est.) Source: CIA World Factbook, 2017 The 2014 coup was Thailand's 12th successful coup since 1932. It installed then-Army Commander Prayuth as prime minister and head of the military junta known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Although Prayuth declared an end to martial law in April 2015, the junta has retained authoritarian powers, including under a new Constitution approved by Thai voters in 2016 that was later signed into law, with a few revisions, by the new King. The new Constitution limits the power of political parties. It also gives the military the ability to indirectly appoint members to an upper house that will, along with an elected lower house, select the country's prime ministers. International observers will likely scrutinize the upcoming polls for any irregularities or suppression. Over the past two decades, Thailand has held mostly free and fair elections, although corruption and vote-buying have been prevalent. After the 2014 coup, the United States immediately suspended military aid to Thailand, including $3.5 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and $85,000 in International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds. However, the United States has not suspended non- military aid, and humanitarian assistance to the country largely has continued. In February 2018, USAID committed $10 million to curtail human trafficking in Thailand. The annual Cobra Gold military exercise also has gone ahead. In the years immediately after the coup, fewer U.S. troops participated in the exercise than in previous years, but the scale of U.S. participation grew in 2018, and in another sign

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