&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Thailand steps up prostitution crackdown as USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Pattaya")
The USS Abraham Lincoln, a US aircraft carrier deployed by US President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, has arrived off a Thai port. A heavy security presence was in force at Laem Chabang port near Pattaya, south of Bangkok when USS Abraham Lincoln arrived. At least 5,000-crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived on Wednesday morning after more than 270 days at sea. They arrived amid reports of deteriorating living conditions and poor mental health on the vessel, including attempted suicides. As they arrived, reports of crackdown on prostitution in the port town of Pattaya surfaced.
Pattaya is now hugely popular with foreign tourists, known for its beaches and a nightlife scene that has long drawn scrutiny over sex tourism. Sex work is illegal in Thailand, but authorities often turn a blind eye, said Pattarachit Gozzoli, a sociologist at Mahidol University told Guardian. Pattaya police chief Anek Srathongyoo explained that sex workers could potentially solicit in public areas without the knowledge of the authorities: “We are doing our best, but it is difficult.”
Once a quiet fishing village, the sex industry infrastructure grew after American troops arrived here post Vietnam war. There has been widespread crackdown on illegal prostitution. The FBI described Pattaya a decade ago as "one of the world's leading sex tourism destinations." However, Pattaya’s mayor, Poramase Ngampiches, has downplayed and said that the recent crackdown on sex workers was not linked to the US arrivals. Local police arrested 25 women for soliciting on the beachfront promenade a week before the ship arrived. Ahead of its arrival, police are preparing additional patrols around Pattaya's main beachfront and nightlife district besides raids over the weekend that led to 40 to 50 people in detention for suspected prostitution.
