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Thailand should base its decision on what fighter aircraft to buy not only on pricing but on the capacity to upgrade and interlock the weaponry within the region, the US Air Force Pacific commander said yesterday.

Admiral Paul V. Hester said Russia, which is offering Thailand rock-bottom prices for its SU-30 aircraft, was seeking a foothold in the Asia-Pacific region.

Beyond pricing, said the Hawaii-based commander, buyers should also consider the impact of purchases on their position in the region's military community. China and Russia might share technology and thinking in their military communities, as they were once comrades in communism, but Thailand is part of a democratic community that technologically is in the American league along with Japan, Australia and South Korea, he said.

Lockheed has offered to upgrade Thailand's F-16s if the government buys more of them, while Sweden has made a comprehensive offer to sell its Gripen multi-role combat aircraft, including barter trade with Thai farm produce.

A family of F-16s and related aircraft, including F-22s and others, could be upgraded in future. The decision taken today would affect the next generation's multilateralism and ability to interlock weaponry among ''a family of nations'', Adm Hester said, adding that Singapore has just bought a fleet of F-15s.

The Royal Thai Air Force will announce its decision on the controversial deal next month, but sources said Russian aircraft were the most likely to be chosen.

Adm Hester also spoke about the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which he said provides its air force and joint battlefield commanders with near-real time, high-resolution intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery.

The US and Australian air forces had demonstrated the Global Hawk UAV's inter-operability in 2001, he said. Next year the Global Hawk would be flown from its base in Guam to provide an opportunity for countries in the region to join the operation.

Equipped with advanced technology sensors, with a range greater than half-way around the world, and the ability to remain in flight for long periods of time, the Global Hawk can provide combatants with the intelligence needed to achieve information dominance, said Adm Hester.

The Global Hawk had also proved its success in the tsunami relief operation, he said.

Downlink stations for the shared information, he said, could also be built in any countries in the region including Thailand, Singapore and India.

''The cost of miscalculation in conflict resolution is very high and we also have economic interests to protect within the available resources,'' he said.

However, Thai military intelligence sources said there was no policy or plan so far to join the Global Hawk operation, as Thailand already has intelligence co-operation with the US.

Adm Hester said future security relied on how countries took care of their children for the first five years, so they would not land in the hands of bad people.

It was a military challenge as well as the task of governments to reach out to the young and take care of their living conditions, education and health.

Adm Hester praised India for its potential in not only economic but also information technology power. He believed India sought to develop militarily and politically.

The US did not regard China a threat in the region, he said. But the veil of secrecy inside the Chinese system had made the US uneasy.

The US, he said, was finding a balance and building up a coalition from the traditional security front to humanitarian relief cooperation, as well as through weaponry alliances.