US nixes secret base rumours

US Charge d’Affaires Michael Heath rejected as untrue a string of rumours ranging from the United States building a secret missile base at a new compound in Chiang Mai to pressuring the Thai air force to buy stealth fighter jets from the country.

The US envoy, who currently serves as the US diplomatic mission leader, responded to the rumours while meeting with reporters at the US ambassador’s residence in Bangkok.

He said the new consulate general being built in the northern province of Chiang Mai has a price tag of US$280 million (9.3 billion baht) due to high-security requirements and the use of green technology.

US embassies or consulates are designed to be highly secure and able to protect against explosions, he said. The new campus is not designed or built to house any “secret or missile base”, he insisted.

According to Mr Heath, the Chiang Mai Consulate…