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No military depot, says US
4 Jan 2018 at 04:00
The United States Embassy in Bangkok denied yesterday
that Washington has sought to build a military service depot in Thailand but a
source close to the matter insisted the rumour was both credible and accurate.
No such proposal was made by the United States at the
recently concluded 4th Defence Strategic Talks (DSTs), according to Jillian
Bonnardeaux, a spokeswoman for the embassy.
Ms Bonnardeaux was referring to a front page story
published in the Bangkok Post on Jan 3 titled "US seeks to build military
service depot".
The Post quoted a Defence Ministry source who attended
the latest DSTs as saying the US Department of Defence wants to open a military
arms maintenance centre in Thailand to supply and fix US armaments purchased by
the Thai military.
The source said the US has not yet specified where it
wants the centre to be located. The matter was discussed at the last DSTs last
month at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, the source claimed.
Ms Bonnardeaux said officials from both countries
reviewed various forms of US-Thai defence cooperation at the talks but did not
touch on this topic.
She said the US values this cooperation and looks forward
to holding the 5th DSTs later this year in Thailand.
"We are committed to continue building on our strong
defence relationship with Thailand, a relationship based on our mutual security
needs and shared commitment to regional security," she said.
Original post: bangkokpost.com
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