A US Navy aircraft carrier's arrival in Thailand this week has triggered a wave of preparation from local authorities, and not the kind typically associated with a warm welcome.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is scheduled to dock at Laem Chabang port near Pattaya, a resort city on Thailand's eastern coast, sometime between September 2 and 6. The carrier is traveling with two additional Navy vessels, together carrying nearly 5,000 sailors and Marines who have spent more than 200 consecutive days at sea following operations in the Middle East.
For the local economy, the visit represents a significant short-term windfall. Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches estimated each service member could spend between 1,000 and 3,000 baht per day onshore, roughly $30 to $91, depending on how long they stay and whether they remain overnight. City officials project the visit could generate between 5 million and 15 million baht in local spending overall.
That same influx has raised concerns among Thai officials about the city's adult entertainment industry, which remains technically illegal under Thai law but operates openly in parts of Pattaya and Bangkok. Ahead of the carrier's arrival, more than 200 police and social welfare officials carried out a late-night sweep of Pattaya Beach and nearby streets on August 29, detaining 25 people, mostly foreign nationals, on suspicion of soliciting tourists. A separate weekend operation led to the detention of 40 to 50 additional people on similar grounds.
Pattaya's police chief, Anek Sratongyoo, acknowledged the difficulty of controlling the situation given how openly some individuals operate in public spaces without law enforcement's immediate knowledge.
An associate professor at Bangkok University's School of Humanities and Tourism Management also raised broader concerns tied to the visit, including risks connected to transmitted infections and reports of stress among personnel following extended deployments at sea.
The Independent
·
Follow
·
The USS Abraham Lincoln will dock at Thailand's resort city of Pattaya where prostitution is legal
Thai prostitution warning as 5,000 US sailors arrive in town after 200 days at sea
The USS Abraham Lincoln will dock at Thailand's resort city of Pattaya, where prostitution is illegalwww.independent.co.uk
It's about to be a whole bunch of dead streetwalkers when them navy boys finally get to let their pent up aggressive behaviors go because the Iranians "belittled" them...
