How will Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra position Thailand as an active promoter of peace in the region when other member states focus their efforts on addressing the Myanmar crisis
It will be a test for the young new PM when she attends the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane from October 8-11.
ASEAN has struggled to ease tensions and violence in one of its member countries, Myanmar, for more than three years since the Tatmadaw’s top commander, Min Aung Hlaing, staged a coup to topple the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The Myanmar issue would also take center stage at the Vientiane summit this year, as the group has desperately tried several solutions to implement its Five-Point Consensus (FPC), notably to deliver humanitarian assistance to violence-ridden areas, according to diplomatic sources.
As Min Aung Hlaing has been banned from attending the meeting due to his poor cooperation in complying with the FPC, the military regime is sending its Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Aung Kyaw Moe to Vientiane.
Paetongtarn is prepared to highlight various issues — but nothing about Myanmar — by talking with her counterparts bilaterally and multilaterally to strengthen the ASEAN community and enhance cooperation within the group and with partners around the globe, according to Jirayu Huangsap, an advisor to the PM.
Paetongtarn told Parliament while announcing her government’s policy on September 12 that she wanted Thailand to be an active promoter of peace.
But the young premier has yet to spell out her plans to deal with the armed conflict in the neighboring country.
The Pheu Thai Party-led government under billionaire Srettha Thavisin, in comparison, was more vocal on the Myanmar issue and managed to deliver a package of humanitarian assistance to people in affected areas in late March.
While the humanitarian initiative was far from perfect, Thailand at least showed its responsibility and raised its profile in the eyes of the international community, according to a senior diplomat.
A senior official at the Foreign Ministry argues that Thailand has quietly continued its contribution to the humanitarian scheme with a 9 million baht contribution recently to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management for FPC implementation.
The ministry also called a series of meetings with Myanmar and its immediate neighboring countries over the past months to convey messages of concern from outside to Nay Pyi Taw.
Tri-party talks involving Myanmar, Thailand, and India were held recently in New Delhi followed by four-party talks with China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar in Chiang Mai, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Competing peace promoters
Thailand is not alone in seeking a role in making peace in Myanmar. Before the ASEAN Summit, Indonesia had called a meeting of the stakeholders including representatives from Myanmar’s parallel National Unity Government, ASEAN, the United Nations, and the European Union to explore solutions and furthermore enhance Indonesia’s role in the peace effort.
It is premature to evaluate Indonesia's efforts, but the move by Jakarta likely deepened divisions within the ASEAN as the country was among the members of the group — including Malaysia and the Philippines — that took a tough stance against the State Administration Council (SAC).
Perhaps without the full acknowledgment of PM Paetongtarn, the Foreign Ministry has planned an ASEAN-Plus forum for an informal gathering of representatives of ASEAN and Myanmar's neighboring countries — India, China and Laos — in mid-December, a diplomatic source revealed, and added that Thailand should highlight the initiative during the Vientiane summit.
“The PM should be well-informed about the situation in Myanmar as well as Thailand’s strategy and plan,” he said, adding, “We cannot walk alone, we need ASEAN on board."
Many issues on the agenda
Upon her arrival in Vientiane on October 8, Paetongtarn starts her mission with a bilateral visit to Laos, which is hosting the summit this year. She is scheduled to meet her counterpart Sonexay Siphandone, the president of the National Assembly, Saysomphone Phomvihane, as well as make a courtesy call on Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith.
Paetongtarn aims to enhance cooperation and promote a strategic partnership with Laos for economic prosperity and sustainable development, Jirayu said.
She would especially highlight cooperation in addressing issues such as drug trafficking, online fraud, human trafficking, transboundary haze, water management in the Mekong River, connectivity in transportation and tourism, and promote the well-being of the people of both countries, he said.
On the multilateral side, Paetongtarn would attend rounds of meetings with counterparts from ASEAN dialogue partners including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, the US, and Canada during the summit to exchange views about the global situation and cooperation between ASEAN and its partners, according to Jirayu.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn would also join a session of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, and the ASEAN Youth Organization as well as the second Asia Zero Emission Community Leaders' Meeting while she is in Vientiane for the summit, he said.
A not-so-hot debut at ACD
The ASEAN Summit in Vientiane would be Paetongtarn’s second international forum after the Asia Dialogue Cooperation (ACD) Summit in Doha from October 2-4.
She was criticized by netizens at home for nervously reading out a prepared speech from her iPad screen.
Her interview with the accompanying pool media failed to address essential outcomes of the summit as she simply said she was satisfied with it.
Every country was excited to attend the long-awaited summit and wanted to invest in Thailand, which had initiated the ACD more than two decades ago, she said. The 3rd ACD Summit was held after a gap of eight years.
Paetongtarn brushed off the criticism of her performance, saying that in order to quickly judge others, one should have information to critique them.
She said an iPad was something that everyone used worldwide, and it was up to the individual whether to use it or not. However, in key international meetings, it should be used to ensure that all information points are accurately covered, she said.
The prime minister said she held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon but did not reveal what was discussed.
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan, who accompanied the PM to the ACD Summit, defended his boss, saying the young premier had performed well during the international event.
He defended her reading out a prepared speech, saying it was normal practice for international leaders, to prevent errors and mistakes. He added that all the leaders attending the meeting read from prepared texts.
“Foreign Minister Maris Sangiamponsa, PM’s Secretary Prommin Lertsuridej and I attended all meetings with her and we believe that the prime minister performed well in all sessions," he said, adding, “Please look at her performance without bias.”
