Members of the Democrat Party and the People’s Party have warned the Anutin Charnvirakul government of possible adverse effects from the new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States on the supply of critical minerals.
They referred to the White House announcement on the “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand Concerning Cooperation to Diversify Global Critical Minerals Supply Chains and Promote Investments’.
Democrat Party deputy leader Werapong Prapha said on Facebook that rare earth minerals such as tungsten, and also tin, were major raw materials for the development of clean energy and electric vehicle manufacturing, and the US and China were trying to dominate rare earth supplies.
Under the MoU, he said, the US will help Thailand explore and produce critical minerals and Thailand must let the US ‘have first opportunity to invest, in accordance with domestic laws, in critical minerals assets that may be sold in Thailand or by a company headquartered or incorporated in Thailand”.
That clause in the MoU showed that the US wanted to expand its access to critical minerals and block China’s access, Mr Werapong said.
He warned that Thailand’s economy had a considerable dependence on China and said Bangkok should maintain good ties with Beijing.
People’s Party MP Phattarapong Leelaphat said it was unnecessary for the Anutin government to sign the MoU on critical minerals, which were national resources.
He said the MoU seemed to benefit mainly the US. He doubted Thailand could afford reciprocal investment or had the technological capability for reciprocal critical minerals production in the US, as stated in the MoU.
He pointed out that the MoU allowed the US to explore for rare earths in Thailand, quickly obtain information about rare earth deposits in Thailand and invest in production at the first opportunity.
The MoU also called for regulatory facilitation for US rare earth production in Thailand, he said.
Mr Phattarapong said the government had made Thailand a pawn in the rare earths war between the US and China.