Urged by Western activists, Thailand officials have started the latest, perhaps final, hostile campaign against Western medical patents. In a shortsighted move, which will save at most $24 million dollars, Thailand’s military dictatorship is breaking patents on HIV and heart disease drugs.

The implications reach far beyond future supplies of new medicines, endangering the greater than 5% annual growth that the country has achieved over most of the past two decades. Already Thailand’s $700 million jewelry exports to America are being threatened by probable retaliatory action from America’s trade representative. And what is more important, American and other Western business leaders are halting investment in Thailand.

On the surface, Thailand’s military doesn’t seem to care. Since seizing power on September 19, 2006, its leaders have given themselves a $9 million pay raise, increased the military budget by over $1 billion, and cut health care spending by at least $12 million.

The regime of the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was democratic, if illiberal and rather autocratic. And Western health activists and nongovernmental organizations, such as Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Consumer Project on Technology, aggressively asserted it had too cozy a relationship with Western corporations.

Although these organizations do not favor military dictatorship, they backed the coup, expecting that a better democratic government would be formed within a year. And according to insiders, as a quid pro quo, the activists, who want cheaper drugs no matter the consequences, are getting action on patents.

The coup leaders claim that patent breaches will enable them to meet their goal of providing “universal access to essential medicine for all Thais.” The government intends to have its local drug manufacturing company, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization, provide copies of the drugs at low prices — although quality is known to be poor. Leftist civil society groups have praised Thailand’s patent-busting actions, led by Medicins Sans Frontieres, which stated, “Thailand is demonstrating that the lives of patients have to come before the patents of drug companies.”

The William J. Clinton Foundation also has endorsed Thailand’s position, applauding the country for what it calls a “measured use” of compulsory licenses to ensure affordable access to high quality drugs.

Even 22 members of Congress have offered their unequivocal support and have cautioned any dissenter to “respect the rights of Thailand … to implement important and permitted public health safeguards.” Senator Brown and Rep. Tom Allen hosted some radical members of the anti-patent movement in the Capitol a couple of weeks ago to defend Thailand’s actions.

With such vocal support from parts of the American government and nongovernmental sources, it is not surprising that Thailand’s government has offered little in the way of serious negotiations on patents. Indeed, Dr. Suwit Wibulpolprasert, a senior economic adviser to Thailand’s minister of health, seems to be escalating matters. At a World Health Organization meeting in January, he hinted that his government would, in the event of an avian flu pandemic, consider preventing foreign nationals from leaving Thailand until and unless developed nations share their stockpiles of vaccines and anti-virals.

The response from affected drug companies has been mixed. The most robust action came from mid-sized Abbott Laboratories, which has terminated the launch

of new medicines in Thailand, but such aggressive escalation benefits no one in the long run, especially the patients who need access to new and innovative medicines.

Undermining public health aside, activists’ continued support for Thailand’s assault on pharmaceutical patents has the potential to reinforce the legitimacy of Thailand’s post-coup military dictatorship. In principle, Medecins Sans Frontieres and other likeminded activist organizations, have an ideological aversion to industry and have campaigned enthusiastically to make medicines public goods.

But the Thailand government ultimately has other ideas. Behind all the rhetoric of improving access to health care, the military government is profit driven. Allegations that officials are benefiting from domestic drug production are rife. Six months into its rule, it shows no indication of drafting a new constitution or transferring to civilian rule. Rather, it is exhibiting all the unsavory characteristics of a military regime — censorship, brutality, and infringement of property rights.

Yet hope remains — but only if American interests stand their ground. For the Ministry of Health may have been acting without consulting the rest of the government. And Thailand’s military is not likely to sabotage the country’s previously investment-friendly climate for such a small gain in cheaper drugs.

Insiders tell me that to keep foreign capital inflows coming, there is a real possibility that a détente between the Thailand government and the drug industry would emerge. Just last week, Sanofi-Aventis, whose patent on its heart disease drug Plavix was broken, released a report stating that it is willing to enlarge access for low-income Thai patients for whom it is considered essential.

Thailand officials must respond soon by negotiating with Sanofi and saying in public what they are saying in private — that there will be no more patent busting.

Other Asian governments are watching Thailand’s actions, and also the actions of Western firms and investors. Thailand’s patent-busting folly may be the last such attempt in Asia.

Mr. Bate, a resident fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, is author of the paper, “Thailand and the Drug Patent Wars,” recently published by the institute.