US hits Thai officials with visa sanctions over deportation of Uyghurs to China

The members of the Muslim group will face persecution, Washington says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on Friday against officials from Thailand, a US ally, for their role in deporting at least 40 Uyghurs to China, where Washington says the members of the Muslim group will face persecution.

The US is "committed to combating China's efforts to pressure governments to forcibly return Uyghurs and other groups to China, where they are subject to torture and enforced disappearances," the State Department said in a statement.

The move appeared intended to discourage Thailand and other countries from such deportations.

While the United States has imposed sanctions in the past on Thailand, including by suspending military aid after military coups, and has targeted Thai individuals and companies for violating sanctions on third countries, a leading Southeast Asia expert said he could not recall sanctions on Thai government officials, who were not named in Rubio's announcement.

Thailand's February deportation of the Uyghurs, held in detention for a decade, came despite warnings from United Nations human rights experts that they were at risk of torture, ill-treatment and "irreparable harm" if returned.

Reuters reported this month that Canada and the United States offered to resettle 48 ethnic Uyghurs, but Bangkok feared upsetting China.

"I am immediately implementing this policy by taking steps to impose visa restrictions on current and former officials for the Government of Thailand responsible for, or complicit in, the forced return of 40 Uyghurs from Thailand on February 27," Rubio said in his statement.

"In light of China's longstanding acts of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against Uyghurs, we call on governments around the world not to forcibly return Uyghurs and other groups to China," Rubio said, adding that the restrictions could extend to family members of those sanctioned.

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 with 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 US ... 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 labour toward Uyghurs, arguing it has established "vocational training centres" in recent years to curb terrorism, separatism and religious radicalism.