US Bases
The fight against Communism persuaded the government to allow the establishment of a number of US bases in Isan, notably in the provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Phanom, Udon Thani, Nakhon Sawan and Ubon Ratchathani. Although the bases were directed at Communists in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, they had an indirect effect in promoting development and opposing Communism in Isan. The bases required the creation of improved transport links, facilitating the integration of Isan with the rest of Thailand. The most important of these was Highway 2 named the Mittraphap Road (Friendship Highway,) which links with Bangkok and the eastern seaboard. and other northeast highways that being with the numeral 2, which link the region's major cities with each other. These remain Isan's primary road links, with many later to be incorporated into the 21st-century Asian Highway Network. Complemented by Thai government programs to build minor roads, these projects did much to bind rural Isan more closely to the cities and to Bangkok.
The number of US servicemen reached its peak in 1969 at 50,000 . This influx of US personnel also had a direct effect in exposing the region to western culture. This helped to promote the development of the region, but it also created a sizable sex industry in the vicinity of the bases. Finally, the US military presence contributed substantial sums of money to the area's economy, with emigrant-spouses who accompanied American servicemen continuing to send substantial sums home. The bases were closed at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.
Read more about this topic: History Of Isan
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