The Thai government denied the accusation of adopting an unbalanced approach to foreign policy after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai held unofficial talks to some foreign ministers of ASEAN countries as well as Than Swe, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Myanmar junta in Thailand on June 19.
Responding to criticism that the caretaker government should wait for the new government to address the issue, Don said he cannot wait until the new government is in power. If there is an opportunity, everyone should contribute to addressing the issue as soon as possible. There must be constant discussions even if it is exhausting. We have to look after the interests of the country.
Caretaker Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha said his government was not siding with any countries. He also defended Don’s action on Myanmar and rejected criticism that the caretaker government should not make such a move, especially when several ASEAN foreign ministers oppose participation. The public sees that this could have an impact on the perception of ASEAN’s image and credibility.
“Who does not come? Those who do not come, do not come. This matter is about finding a solution within ASEAN and it is necessary that we have talks. In the past, we all looked at different perspectives. We need to put ourselves in an appropriate position. In the past, we have followed our policy, which is to fully comply with the internal ASEAN resolutions on Myanmar. But if we look at it from a different angle, we would be more affected than others or not,” said Gen.Prayut.
PM Gen. Prayut said that Thailand shares a land border of over 3,000 kilometres with Myanmar and also has maritime borders. There is cross-border trade worth billions of dollars each year, and some gas and oil resources come from Myanmar. These matters need to be discussed, taking into account what Thailand has to lose.
This decision comes at a time when Thailand is going to host the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) from June 24 to 26, which serves as an important platform to highlight close ties with China, which is Thailand’s top trading partner, worth 3.69 trillion baht, accounting for 18 percent of Thailand’s global trade.
China is considered friendly and economically linked to Myanmar’s military government.
Prayut posted a message on June 20 saying that he is confident that the close friendship between Thailand and China will promote and further expand the success of the Chinese Global Business Meeting, which will benefit the economy, trade, and investment. There will be over 4,000 Chinese entrepreneurs from around the world attending WCEC to negotiate and explore trade and investment opportunities in Thailand.
