….The Thai and Singaporean armed forces have developed good military relations and cooperate as ‘strategic partners’ in the maintenance of regional security. A Thai-Singaporean joint administrative committee for the defense industry has been established to monitor the two countries’ security relations and to resolve any problems that may arise....

Yet close examination of this statement leads to one important conclusion—such relationships seem to benefit Singapore’s armed forces more than Thailand’s.

In 1981, Thailand and Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding on joint military collaboration which allowed Singapore’s army unilateral access to Thailand’s air-base facilities for training, the transportation of military provisions and the use of Thai air space. However, under that mou, Thailand did not enjoy similar benefits from Singapore.

After 23 years, on Nov 22, 2004, the two countries’ defense ministers signed a new 15-year MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on bilateral military training and exchange of provisions between the Thai and Singaporean air forces. This important MOU was signed by then Thai Minister of Defense Gen Samphan Boonyanun who was appointed for a brief period toward the end of the first Thaksin administration. By signing the mou, this relatively unknown general, with seemingly no close ties to the Thai Rak Thai Party or the prime minister, committed an act of significant importance for the security of Thailand….

With the new MOU it seemed that the Thai Ministry of Defense was more aware of Thailand’s disadvantaged position under the previous agreement. This time Bangkok demanded more equal access to Singapore’s air-base facilities and air space, as well as to the transportation of military provisions.

Under the new MOU, Singapore offered to “donate” seven second-hand military aircraft —three F-16 Alpha and four F-16 Bravo models—to the Royal Thai Air Force, in exchange for the use of Thailand’s Udon Thani Air Base…. The deal was widely publicized by Thailand’s Ministry of Defense as a sign of the good relationship that existed between these two countries.

However, the “donation” raises several important points. The Nation, a Thai daily English-language newspaper, reported that the Royal Thai Air Force had signed an agreement granting the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) the use of Udon Thani air base three times a year in exchange for the “donation” of seven second-hand F-16 aircrafts, valued at more than one billion baht ($26 million). This considerably expensive “donation” amounts to “rent” for the use of the Thai air base....

In October 2004, just prior to signing the MOU, Gen Samphan, a former assistant to the defense minister, was promoted to the position of minister in the last cabinet reshuffle of the first Thaksin administration. He served for a brief two-month term. Like many other figures in the Thaksin government who were specifically appointed to complete certain tasks, the general subsequently disappeared from the Thai economic and political scene into oblivion....

…[T]he deal was specifically conceived to strengthen Singapore’s national security by extending its forward defense to Thailand. By conducting antiterrorist training at Udon Thani Air Base, Singapore has transformed the region’s geopolitics and basically included Thailand as part of its counterterrorist strategy….

The seven second-hand aircraft are part of Singapore’s strategic plan to turn the small island state into a major party in the establishment of the regional security and counterterrorism measures through close collaboration with Thailand.

But since Mr Thaksin has frequently stated that Thailand is free from international terrorist threats, he was never able to convince the people of Thailand and the Thai security agencies why the country should accept this deal….

Mr Ukrist is senior researcher at the Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and co-author with Duncan McCargo of The Thaksinization of Thailand (Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2005).

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