Bush upgrades ties with Thailand

President Bush is on a whirlwind East Asia tour

US President George W Bush has designated Thailand a non-Nato ally, making it easier for it to buy US military equipment.

The move is aimed at boosting security co-operation between the two countries, said Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, following a meeting with Mr Bush.

The US president is in Bangkok, where he will attend the Apec summit of Pacific Rim nations.

He is on the third leg of a six-nation Asian tour, in which Mr Bush is seeking more support in the US-led war on terror.

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Earlier at the summit the US president told a local television station in Bangkok that Thailand and the US had "a common interest" to make sure their countries were secure.

Later on Sunday he was due to give a speech to Thai troops just back from Afghanistan and tour Bangkok's famed Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Thai officials said.

Thailand's new status with the US means it will gain significant benefits in the area of foreign aid and defence co-operation. The US recently bestowed the same status on the Philippines.

Other countries to have this security relationship with the US include Japan, Australia, Israel, Egypt, South Korea and Argentina.

Thailand boost

The US president is expected to use the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum, on Monday and Tuesday, to urge Asian leaders to help rebuild Iraq.

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He arrived in Bangkok from Manila, where on Saturday he told the Philippine Congress that a free and stable Iraq would "serve the cause of peace".

But some Apec ministers meeting ahead of the summit have expressed reservations about the US push to put the war on terror on an equal footing with boosting prosperity.

Mr Bush is also expected to praise Thailand's role in the arrest of Hambali, the suspected mastermind of the Bali bombing, who is said to be Asia's main link to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Hambali's arrest - in a joint operation with the CIA - was hailed as a victory in the war on terror, but it also raised fears Islamic militants might be at work in Thailand.

After Thailand, Mr Bush will also visit Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.