The Thai leadership gave the United States five days to withdraw aircraft and military personnel located on the island of Phuket. Previously, the United States asked to allow military personnel to be stationed there to participate in rescue operations.

The command of the Thai Armed Forces refused the US military's request to establish a base on the island of Phuket and demanded that US aircraft and military personnel be withdrawn from the island within five days, reports the Bangkok Post .

The US military contingent located in Phuket participated in the Guardian Sea anti-submarine exercise. The exercise ended on May 20, but Washington has repeatedly asked the Thai military to allow it to set up a base at Phuket airport to conduct sea rescue operations for the Rohingya, a Muslim people in Myanmar forced to flee the country due to oppression.

A source in Thai military circles explained to the publication that the authorities of this country are afraid of US pressure on the issues of investigating human trafficking and solving the problem of Rohingya refugees.

Previously, the US, EU and UN called on Thailand to show tolerance and provide assistance to illegal Rohingya migrants who are leaving Myanmar en masse to escape violence from the Buddhist Burmese-speaking population.

Thai Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan stated in response that his country is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees, but will not create camps for them on its territory.

He warned that Thailand was ready to provide food, drinking water and medicine to the refugees. But if they try to land on the territory of the country, laws regarding illegal migration will be applied to them. “We can’t talk about refugee camps in Thailand yet,” he said.

Thailand demanded urgent withdrawal of US troops from Phuket