based at Sattahip. They may have been piloted by dissident officers,
but that doesn’t square with what we know about the coup so far.”
“What do we know about it?” Admiral Magruder asked.
“That its leaders appear to be That army and air force officers who feel
that Bangkok is dealing too softly with the communist insurrection. And
that is what makes it unlikely that the attack on Jefferson was ordered
by coup leaders.”
He took a step back and unfolded a telescoping metal pointer to indicate
areas on the map. “Up here on the That-Burmese border, we have a major
rebel insurrection … probably led by the Communist Party of Thailand.”
The pointer slid along the border. “We have two separate incidents in
this area, encounters with unidentified MiGs, Chinese J-7s, actually. In
one of these incidents, one of our aircraft is shot down. Burmese
involvement is suspected … but the present Political situation does
not support that theory. Burma had its first democratic elections in
thirty years not long ago and is now making the transition from a
military dictatorship to a Western-style democracy. There are certainly
dissident elements within the Burmese military, but Rangoon denies
involvement, and Washington accepts that statement at face value.”
The pointer moved again. “Here is U Feng, a That military base captured
three days ago by forces unknown. The Thais suspect the Burmese,
working together with CPT rebels. Again, Rangoon denies involvement.
Most of you know by now that two of our people are eyewitnesses to
what’s going on up there. According to Lieutenant Commander Wayne’s
debriefing report, there are a number of Shenyang J-7s currently based
at U Feng. This solidly links the forces at U Feng with whoever is
flying J-7s across the Burmese border but doesn’t tell us anything more
about who is responsible.
“Down here in Bangkok, and outside the base at Sattahip, we’ve had
demonstrations, even riots, going on now for several weeks. That
Central Intelligence believes these have been instigated by the CPT.
That links them with the rebellion up north, of course … but not with
the MiGs and the capture of U Feng.
“Finally, we have the military coup. It began at approximately 2100
hours on the 18th. It purportedly involves a number of high-ranking
dissident officers who feel the government has been mismanaging the
entire campaign against the rebellion in the north. The word is also
out that U Feng would never have fallen if Bangkok had taken a stronger
line against Burmese involvement in the north. Apparently, the coup
leaders insist that the CPT rebellion is being sponsored by the Burmese
… once again, something Rangoon categorically denies.
“So far, the coup has achieved limited success and appears now to be on
the defensive. Apparently, only a few units have mutinied, and most
army and air force regiments have remained loyal. According to reports,
a large percentage of the Royal That Air Force has been crippled by
sabotage on the ground, but fighting is light and somewhat sporadic. For
the coup to be successful, it would have to win the approval of the King
and his ministers.
This is a basic factor of That politics, and so far that approval seems
most unlikely.
“The That government has asked for our support through their embassy in
Washington. We ourselves have heard very little from the government
directly, and we seem to be getting mixed signals here … help us on
one hand, get out and leave us alone on the other. Part of this may be
due to people high in the government who are actually in sympathy with
the mutiny and are deliberately confusing things. I should point out,
though, that the coup leaders should be trying to cultivate American
support, not attacking us. The That government has maintained close
relations with the United States for many years and is our strongest
ally in the region. Washington feels it is unlikely that coup leaders
would order an attack on the Jefferson, since that would alienate us and
isolate them politically.
“So, gentlemen, when it comes to the question of who attacked us last
night, we are faced with a contradiction. The leaders of the military