US Defense Secretary Austin meets Thai leader to boost ties

BANGKOK — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Thailand’s prime minister on Monday as part of an effort to strengthen what Austin says is Washington’s “unparalleled network of alliances and partnerships” in the region.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is also defense minister, also met Austin last month in Washington. Thailand and the United States are longtime military allies, despite a cooling of relations after the 2014 military coup that brought former army commander Prayuth to power. Monday’s visit was Austin’s first to Thailand as defense secretary.

A U.S. Defense Department statement issued after the meeting said Austin and Prayuth “shared perspectives on regional security issues, and discussed opportunities to strengthen the U.S.-Thai alliance.”

It said Austin declared Washington’s interest in strengthening “interoperability between the U.S. and Thai forces and to support Thailand’s modernization requirements.”

The two men also discussed prioritizing cooperation in emerging technical areas, such as the cyber and space technology sectors, as well as Thailand’s desire for “enhanced defense industry cooperation,” the statement said.

Thai media had reported that Prayuth would likely discuss arms procurement with Austin, including of F-35 fighter aircraft, but Austin did not comment specifically on that in remarks to the media.

Tensions between the U.S. and China have been growing in part over Beijing’s claims to Taiwan and much of the South China Sea, and its increasing power and influence in the region.

In a speech Saturday at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore, Austin said China’s “steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan” threatens to undermine the region’s security and prosperity.

He said he was proud that Washington’s “unparalleled network of alliances and partnerships has only deepened” in the past year.

China’s defense minister, Gen. Wei Fenghe, said at the same conference that the U.S. is trying to turn Southeast Asian countries against Beijing and is seeking to advance its own interests “under the guise of multilateralism.”

China over the past decade has been trying to extend its influence in Southeast Asia, both through aid and investment, including its “Belt and Road” infrastructure projects and use of its navy and other maritime resources to press its claims to vast areas of the South China Sea.

In a briefing in Bangkok, Austin said a conversation he had in Singapore with his Chinese counterpart was “an important step in our efforts to develop open lines of communication” with Beijing’s defense leaders.

“America never ... shies away from honest competition, but we don’t seek conflict, nor do we seek a region that’s split into hostile blocks,” he said, according to a defense department transcript of his remarks. “It was an important opportunity to raise our concerns about the potential for instability in the Taiwan Strait and to underscore our ... long-standing policy toward Taiwan as unwavering and unchanged.”

Thailand and the United States were close allies during the Vietnam War, and in 2003, Washington designated Thailand a major non-NATO ally, one of about 20 worldwide.

Such status means the U.S. regards Thailand as a strategic partner, and facilitates some aspects of military assistance and cooperation. The annual multinational Cobra Gold military exercise, one of the world’s biggest, is hosted in Thailand in partnership with the United States.

曼谷——美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀周一会见了泰国总理，此举旨在加强奥斯汀所说的华盛顿在该地区“无与伦比的联盟和伙伴关系网络”。

泰国总理兼国防部长巴育·占奥差上个月在华盛顿也曾与奥斯汀会面。尽管2014年巴育发动军事政变上台后，泰美关系有所降温，但泰美两国仍是长期的军事盟友。奥斯汀此次访问是他作为国防部长首次访问泰国。

会后，美国国防部发表声明称，奥斯汀和巴育“就地区安全问题交换了意见，并讨论了加强美泰联盟的机会”。

声明称，奥斯汀宣布华盛顿有意加强“美泰军队之间的互操作性，并支持泰国的现代化需求”。

声明称，两人还讨论了优先在新兴技术领域（如网络和太空技术领域）开展合作，以及泰国希望“加强国防工业合作”的愿望。

泰国媒体曾报道，巴育可能会与奥斯汀讨论武器采购事宜，包括F-35战斗机，但奥斯汀在对媒体发表讲话时并未对此作出具体评论。

中美之间的紧张关系日益加剧，部分原因是北京对台湾和南海大部分地区的主权声索，以及其在该地区日益增长的实力和影响力。

奥斯汀周六在新加坡举行的年度香格里拉对话防务峰会上发表讲话称，中国“在台湾附近不断增加挑衅性和破坏稳定的军事活动”，威胁到该地区的安全和繁荣。

他表示，令他感到自豪的是，华盛顿“无与伦比的联盟和伙伴关系网络在过去一年中得到了进一步深化”。

中国国防部长魏凤和将军在同一会议上表示，美国正试图挑拨东南亚国家与北京的关系，并试图“以多边主义为幌子”推进自身利益。

过去十年，中国一直试图通过援助和投资扩大其在东南亚的影响力，包括其“一带一路”基础设施项目，以及利用其海军和其他海上资源来推进其对南海大片区域的主权声索。

奥斯汀在曼谷举行的新闻发布会上表示，他在新加坡与中国同行进行的会谈是“我们努力与北京国防领导人建立开放沟通渠道的重要一步”。

根据国防部公布的讲话稿，他表示：“美国从不回避公平竞争，但我们不寻求冲突，也不希望看到一个分裂成敌对集团的地区。这是一个重要的机会，让我们能够表达对台海潜​​在不稳定局势的担忧，并强调我们长期以来对台政策的坚定不移。”

在越南战争期间，泰国和美国是亲密的盟友。2003 年，华盛顿将泰国指定为主要的非北约盟友，这是全球约 20 个非北约盟友之一。

这种地位意味着美国将泰国视为战略伙伴，并在某些方面提供军事援助与合作。一年一度的“金色眼镜蛇”多国联合军事演习是全球规模最大的军事演习之一，由美国与泰国合作举办。