Thailand is ready to cooperate with all countries to enhance peace in the ASEAN region but, in the meantime, does not want maintain good relations with a neighboring country which lacks sincerity and continually tries to threaten Thai sovereignty.
This remark was made by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul during his phone conversation with US President Donald Trump last night, while in China as part of Their Majesties the King and Queen’s entourage on their first state visit to China.
Anutin said in his Facebook post today that he received phone calls from the US president and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim regarding the border tensions with Cambodia. He said both leaders asked him whether Thailand will still adhere to the commitments, as specified in the joint declaration signed with Cambodia.
He said he thanked the two leaders for their roles in witnessing the signing of the declaration in Kuala Lumpur last month, but advised them that Thailand had decided to suspend all commitments laid out in the document because it was Cambodia which broke its commitments first, citing the latest landmine explosion in the border area of Thailand’s Si Sa Ket province.
He informed the two leaders that the ASEAN Observer Team in Thailand and Cambodia had confirmed that the landmine was new.
Anutin also told the two leaders that Thailand has demanded that Cambodia offer an apology to the Thai people over the latest landmine incident, which injured four Thai soldiers, and give an assurance that such incidents will not be repeated.
He also reaffirmed Thailand’s right to take whatever actions are necessary to protect its sovereignty and the safety of its people.
In their capacities as witnesses to the signing of the declaration, Anutin said he asked Trump and Anwar to tell Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to comply strictly with its commitments and not to obstruct Thailand’s mine clearance efforts in areas already agreed by the two countries.
He also told Trump and Anwar that the Thai people have lost trust and confidence in the Cambodian government, which may pose a difficulty in the restoration of peace between Thailand and Cambodia.
The Thai government and the Thai people feel saddened and disappointed with the latest violent incident because, in the past, Thailand had provided help and sanctuary to Cambodian people escaping the civil war, without ever expecting that the Cambodian government would become hostile and pose a security threat to Thailand and the Thai people, said Anutin in his Facebook post.
Anutin disclosed that Trump had also asked him whether Thailand has any problem with the tariffs on Thai products to the US market. Anutin asked whether the 19% tariff could be lowered, to which Trump claimed that the rate is already very low.
The prime minister said he argued that, if the rate is already low, he would not have asked for the rate to be cut during the APEC meeting in South Korea, adding that Thailand has always been a good ally of the US.
Anutin quoted Trump as saying something like “If you do the demining work quickly, I’ll consider chopping more of the percentage for you.”
