Nasa will withdraw its request to conduct weather research at the U-tapao airbase if the Thai government fails to approve it by next Tuesday, Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said yesterday.

A letter from Nasa, delivered by the US Embassy in Bangkok, indicated that the agency might not have enough time to prepare its equipment for the project if the government gave it a nod far too late, he said.

Nasa wants to use the U-tapao airbase for its weather-research aircraft in August and September this year, so they need to start preparing by July, he said. "Unfortunately, we will lose the chance to gain scientific knowledge for rain forecasting, if we cannot approve the project on time. It might also affect our reputation because other countries such as Cambodia and Singapore are ready to join," Surapong said.

He added that he would encourage the Cabinet to make a decision before time runs out. The Cabinet was supposed to consider Nasa's proposal weeks ago, but concerned agencies have yet to send their opinion on the project in writing, he said.

Nasa signed a joint statement with the Science Ministry's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) since September 2010 to show their intention to conduct research in U-tapao. Communication between Bangkok and Washington began last June, when the United States proposed to hold a meeting between concerned agencies to consider details of the research. Later, Thailand asked the US to seek the opinion of governments from neighbouring countries about whether they had any concerns or reservations about the project, Surapong said.

Thailand has already sought China's opinion and Beijing has said it has no problems with the project, he said. In addition, the US had informed the Foreign Ministry earlier this year that Cambodia and Singapore had no problems if Nasa and Thai research aircraft flew over their sovereign skies, he said.

The Foreign Ministry submitted the proposal for Cabinet consideration on June 4 and sought the opinion of other concerned agencies, including the military, he said.

The agencies in charge of national security raised no concerns, he said, adding that the Foreign Ministry's Treaties and Legal Department and the Council of State had indicated that the Cabinet had the authority to make a decision on the issue, without seeking approval from Parliament.

The project became a hot political issue when the opposition Democrat Party started accusing the government of offering Nasa the use of U-tapao in exchange for a US visa for former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and demanded that the issue be taken to Parliament according to the charter's Article 190.

Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat also insisted that the Nasa project was purely scientific without having any implication on security matters and that China had not raised any concerns.

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Nasa sets deadline for Thailand over airbase use