Thailand responded on Saturday that it had received reassurances from China “over the safety of the Uyghurs and will continue to follow up on the well-being of this group”.
“Thailand has always upheld a long tradition of humanitarianism, particularly in providing assistance to displaced persons,” the Thai foreign ministry said, adding that it values the “the long-standing and close treaty alliance with the United States.”
This week, the European Parliament also condemned Thailand over the deportations, calling on the EU to use free trade agreement negotiations as leverage to stop future such moves.
Murray Hiebert, an expert with the Southeast Asia program at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he could not recall past US sanctions against Thai government officials.
He said Thailand can be sensitive to criticism, but its reaction could be tempered by President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against countries that have large trade surpluses with Washington.
“They might want to lay low,” he said. “They already have a target on their back by having the 11th-largest trade surplus with the U.S … It’s not clear Thailand is out of the woods yet when Trump imposes reciprocal tariffs in early April.”
Analysts say Washington has avoided taking tougher measures against Thailand in the past due to concerns that this might push its long-time ally closer to China.
The Washington-based Campaign for Uyghurs advocacy group commended Rubio’s move and the Trump administration in a statement, saying it “sends a strong message that those who enable the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses will face consequences for their crimes”.
Rubio, who was a staunch advocate for Uyghurs as a US senator, has reiterated that Beijing’s treatment of the group had amounted to “genocide and crimes against humanity,” a designation the US first made in the waning hours of President Donald Trump’s first term in 2021.
China denies allegations of abuse and forced labor toward Uyghurs, arguing it has established “vocational training centres” in recent years to curb terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism.
