Thailand on Wednesday reaffirmed long-standing military ties with the US and
said security cooperation would be handled separately from ongoing talks over US
tariffs and would not be used as bargaining leverage. A government spokesperson
said Bangkok is carefully assessing proposals in the trade talks and seeks a
reciprocal deal that delivers fair benefits. Earlier reports quoted a Thai
official saying Bangkok was preparing to warn the Trump administration that high
US tariffs could force Thailand to scale back military cooperation, including
joint exercises, and that stance is expected to be part of Thailand's
counterproposal when reciprocal trade talks resume later this month.
