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In Thailand, US Threads Between Military Interest and Democratic Ideals

Rattaphol Onsanit

   WASHINGTON - Thanat Apichonpongsakorn, a 34-year-old business owner,
   hadnearlygiven up onThai politics.But afterhe sawyoungpoliticianslaunch
   a new party, he went to the pollslast yearwith a new attitude, notjust
   tovote"no"as hehadthe previous two electionssince 2011.

   Thanatleftthe voting boothon March24, 2019, filled with optimism for
   the Future ForwardParty.Within less than a year,the partyhe
   supportedwas gone after a court ruledagainst itsfinancialpractice, a
   verdict thatpriesopen Thanat's prior viewonpolitics.

   "No matter who the new government will be," he said, "There will be the
   same kind of people and bodies. Nothing is going to change."

   The demise of Future Forward, the country's second-biggest opposition
   party,removes a challengein the
   parliamentforthemilitary-backedgovernment andarmed forces, and has a
   knock-on effect to the U.S.-Thai relationship. It teststheability of
   theU.S. to thread a delicate line between strengthening military ties
   with its oldest ally in Asia andadvocating for democracy inaregion
   where strongman rulersincluding Cambodia's Hun Sen and Thailand's
   General Prayut Chan-o-chaemerged triumphant from elections regarded as
   flawed by international observers.
   

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