Diplomacy: The Two-Sides of Thailand’s diplomacy “Isolationist vs Internationalist”

/ March 24, 2011

by Ranger, Thai Intel’s political journalist

  • Against all odds, the Thai Internationalist keeps Thailand open!

Picking up Post Today this morning, I was struck by an article written by the former head of the Thai national security council, who said quote, “There are Thais who wants to internationalize the Thai crisis from the start…But it failed.”

Then again today, with the thought of the Yellow Shirts calling for Thailand to shut off the globe for a few years for an “Internal Clensing” I started to notice, in many news, of the isolationist posture of Thailand.

About noon, news started to come out about the Thai military chief, Prayuth, calling for the Thai-Cambodia conflict to be solve bilaterally and talks be held in either Cambodia or Thailand-and not Indonesia. Then news came out that the Thai Defense Minister rejects Indonesia involvement in the Thai Cambodian border area.

Then as Thai Intel reported yesterday, web-pages of foreign news service such as that of Cambodia, have been blocked in Thailand.

Then the government just said it will build-up a local defense industry so Thailand can be self-reliant and also strengthen Thailand’s shipping industry-so Thailand can be in control of the cost of its own export logistics. Then the Thai government, without the proper authorization of  Thai law, plans to shoot 2 Thai satellite in a rush into space, to protect Thailand’s satellite geo-global-space positioning.

Then a string of other economic news, like from the Thai central bank that said Thailand was shielded from the Japan and the Middle East crisis-and all the talk of the danger of global fund flow and the need to watch it in Thailand.

Then the Thai proposed in the past of the so called ASEAN currency is now rejected. Then late in the after noon, came news that a unit of the Thai Finance Ministry, was going to put in-place a combination of “Stress Test and Early Warning System” of the Thai financial situation-so it could quickly react to global changes-well it sounds like a “Valve” being put up.

Then some national security academic, said something about how foreign values are different than Thailand’s values and then un-believably as it seem, the Deputy Prime Minister said something along that line that foreign observer to the next Thai election was not welcomed, said quote, “Foreigners have no business in Thailand.”

Then off course, the Thai government have rejected all global concerns on human rights and freedom of expression in Thailand-to the extent that the Thai DSI or the Thai FBI reversed its findings on the assassination of a Japanese journalist, and came out to say against all the witnesses that says otherwise-and said the Thai military did not kill the Japanese journalist.

And if one just turns on any Thai TV, it is right there-the message that this is Thailand and foreigners are pretty much just followers that should keep silence or support the royalist, elite and military rulers of Thailand.

For example, one TV station, even ran a report on how Temasek, the Singapore government investing arm-have been selling out of the Thai stock market in heavy moves-as a way to bring the Thai government to the negotiating table-on Temask owned Thai telecom firm, AIS.

All of the above points to a very strong “Isolationist Sentiment” in Thailand.

What about the “Internationalist?”

There is very little need to trace the “Internationalist Elements” in Thailand.

Those fighting for democracy, liberty and justice are very internationalist in their position. But just quickly, just check out the typical Red Shirts media-they are filled with internationalist elements.

It is extremely surprising, really, to see the likes of Prachathai-doing in depth report on events like the labor situation in the USA-for example. Or that Rajprasong News Twitter, the main Red Shirts Twitter-is always filled with about 50% of international news and events all the time-not just in the current Japan and Middle East crisis-and making very intelligent comments on them.

While the isolationist, are saying that Thailand is special and unique-the internationalist, are fast drawing comparison between Thailand and what is going on in the globe.

Things like Europe’s position on lese majeste and the various regime in the Middle East and North Africa crackdown on their citizens are having an impact on the internationalist in Thailand.

Then the Red Shirts case against the royalist, elite and military rulers of Thailand at the International Criminal Court-and the trashing by the Internationalist of Amnesty International on its back-burner posture on Thailand’s human rights condition.

The line is not all that clear cut, off course.

There are places where the lines clearly merge.

In business, one reads a great deal these days about how Thai firms are going global. Then one also reads a great deal about how Thai businesses,  located inside Thailand, are seeing robust growth from contact with foreigners who comes to Thailand.

But is that former head of the Thai national security council right?

Have the “Internationalist” lost out to the “Isolationist?”

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