US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday announced visa bans on officials from ally Thailand after the kingdom deported dozens of Uyghurs back to China.
“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 in a statement as he attended G7 talks in Canada.
Rubio said that the United States would as a matter of policy take action against foreign government officials involved in deportations of Uyghurs.
He said that he was immediately restricting visas to an unspecified number of former or current officials from Thailand involved in the deportation of dozens of Uyghurs in late February.
Thailand is the oldest US ally in Asia but maintains friendly relations with Beijing. In response to international criticism on the deportations, the Thai government said that China assured it that the Uyghurs would be treated well.
The United States accuses China of genocide over its mass camps for Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority in the northwestern Xinjiang region.
China rejects the accusations and says it is providing vocational education to improve Uyghurs’ future.
Rubio since his time as a senator has been an outspoken advocate of the Uyghurs and critic of China.
The harsh criticism of Thailand, however, marks a rare return by President Donald Trump’s administration to the longstanding US prioritization of human rights and protection of asylum seekers.
Trump has pursued mass deportations of undocumented people in the United States, rejecting arguments that it is unsafe for them to return to violence-torn nations, mostly in Latin America.
Rubio, speaking to reporters at the G7, said in response to a question that he expected Trump eventually to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“The president engaged with him in his first term, and I expect he will do so again, and he should,” Rubio said, while saying no date was set.
“These are the leaders of two big, important, powerful countries, and the leaders of powerful countries, whether they agree on things or not, should communicate for the safety and well being of the world,” he said.
