U.S., Thais Agree on Weapons Stockpile

The United States and Thailand agreed Friday to establish a weapons stockpile here--$100 million in arms and ammunition--designed to deter aggression by Thailand’s Communist neighbors.

The United States maintains arms stockpiles in some North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations and in other countries, such as the Philippines, where it has military bases. The U.S. “war reserve” stores here would be the first in a country outside those categories.

The agreement was signed by U.S. Ambassador William A. Brown and Thai Defense Secretary Paniang Kantarat. Brown said the agreement, which must be approved by Congress, provides an “increased measure of security against attack and helps promote peace and stability in Southeast Asia.”

The announcement did not specify the potential enemy, but Vietnam is acknowledged as the greatest threat to Thailand. Hanoi has an estimated 40,000 troops in Laos and 140,000 in Cambodia, both bordering Thailand.

Vietnamese Incursions

Often in recent years, Vietnamese troops have crossed the Thai border in pursuit of Cambodian guerrillas. On one occasion, Thai-purchased U.S. arms had to be brought in by airlift--a high-cost operation--to meet the emergency.

The weapons stockpile will be developed over five years, beginning in 1988, if Congress approves. Each country has a target contribution of $10 million a year, and at whatever level, each must contribute the same amount.

The armaments, according to Lt. Gen. Vichit Boonyawat, a Thai military spokesman, will be contained in two “complementary” stockpiles. The Thai reserve can include either American weapons or those purchased elsewhere. The Thai military may use these weapons when it chooses, and will pay for the American supplies only as they are expended, the spokesman said.

Weapons in the American stockpile could be withdrawn by the Thai military only with U.S. presidential approval in a “nation-threatening” situation, he added. The United States would have access--with “appropriate notification”--to its own stockpile, but a U.S. Embassy spokesman stressed that the arms are meant for Thai use, not American.

Nuclear Arms Forbidden

He said the American arms will consist of conventional munitions--small arms and artillery. The agreement specifically forbids storage of nuclear weapons.

Proposed location of the weapons stores was not disclosed, but the Thai spokesman said security will be provided by Thai soldiers. American civilian technicians will monitor the stockpiles, he said.

The United States built up an extensive network of military bases here during the Vietnam War, but, at the request of the Thai government, shut down operations in 1976. Washington, however, remains Thailand’s No. 1 weapons supplier, with $50 million in grant military aid budgeted for the current year. American troops often join the Thais in military exercises here, but the government is opposed to any permanent U.S. presence.

Spokesmen for both the Thai and American governments discouraged the interpretation that establishment of the stockpile represents a return of an American military presence to the Southeast Asian mainland.