Thailand to engage all partners on equal basis: NSC's Anusit

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INTERVIEW
Thailand to engage all partners on equal basis: NSC's Anusit
Supalak Ganjanakhundee,
Wiraj Sripong
The Nation


Anusit Kanakorn

BANGKOK: -- DESPITE the changing regional geopolitical front where superpowers like the United States and China are competing, Thailand's security strategy will mainly focus on non-traditional security threats, as the National Security Council (NSC) secretary general Anusit Kanakorn foresees no military tension - at least for the short-term.

The US pivoted its might and presence in Asia and the Pacific when China is raising its power and influence politically, economically and militarily in the region. Beijing has territorial conflicts with many members of Asean, notably the Philippines and Vietnam, over the South China Sea.

The NSC chief believes that Sino-US geopolitical competition in the region will preserve the status quo for the coming future.

"The two giants might flex their muscles sometimes, but it is unlikely that tension between China and the US will escalate into war in the region," he said.

To him, the South China Sea is considered to be a strategic route for commercial operations and other operations for both major powers. Thus, Anusit perceives the Sino-Asean rapprochement as a means for China to counter-balance the influence of the US in the region and vice versa.

In an era in which Asean and other regional groupings have started a trend by increasing their bargaining power vis-a-vis major powers, the US and China will have to respect national sovereignty while engaging with their counterparts, according to Anusit.

"It is impossible for a country to put pressure by not respecting the other's national sovereignty, Anusit said when asked if China wanted to use Thai military facilities for its strategic counter to the US, a long-time treaty ally of Thailand.

"Thailand wants to engage with all of its partners on an equal basis - be it China, the US or the others," he said.

The military's role, he said, would increase when tackling non-traditional threats such as natural disasters, environmental issues, transnational crime, migration, terrorism, cyber crime and energy and food security, as they were on the top of the list of the security strategy that would be put into place between 2015 and 2019.

"The global context is becoming more interdependent and complex. Human migration, which used to be unusual, has become a common phenomenon in society nowadays. This is not to forget disaster risks and pandemics, which are unpredictable and cause irreparable losses.

"Thailand is well aware of the changes and challenges deriving from the impact of globalisation, he said, "We are preparing ourselves to undertake measures that will enable us to address challenges in all aspects, ranging from traditional to non-traditional issues."

The new security strategy very much highlights the importance of Thailand's geopolitical location and the role of the Kingdom as a mainland economic hub and logistics centre.

In light of the Asean Economic Community, the government under Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has already put forward the first phase of the special economic zones, which will boost economic activities and help maintain border security. Economic integration, which required relaxation of laws and regulations, always contradicts security management, which mostly wants to see tight control over people and goods movement.

Anusit argued that "strict law enforcement should accompany economic activities to ensure order and stability in areas along the border where activities criss-crossed".

"Look what we are facing in the fisheries sector right now. Loose controls and illegal fishing led to a yellow card by the European Union," he said. "I told people in the sector many times that doing legal fishing will contribute good benefits to the entire economy."

He said action would be taken to facilitate exchanges of information and intelligence among government agencies, to ensure an equitable and quality public healthcare system and prevent the illegal flow of mass and dual-used goods.

"We are negotiating on the issue of border management with our neighbours, especially Myanmar [which shares a 2,400 kilometres border with Thailand], to step up the control of narcotics and drug trafficking, people smuggling and to address pandemics. More crossing points along the Thai-Myanmar border will be established in the future," said Anusit.

When asked about issues of great concern, the NSC chief highlighted people smuggling and terrorism that is linked to the insurgency in the southernmost provinces.

"We have closely monitored the movements of Thai-Muslim students abroad, but so far there have been no reports of Thai students being involved in any terrorism acts, particularly with the Islamic State," he said.

He suggested that terrorism was a global issue that required international efforts and cooperation to address.

"At the moment, Thailand with Malaysia's help - as the facilitator - is negotiating with concerned groups. Most of the conversations took place in Malaysia," he said, adding that the remaining challenge in the negotiation lied in the diverging views of the separatists.

The security chief declined to reveal if there had been any progress in the peace process between the Thai authorities and separatist groups in the deep South. However, he believes the talks will yield tangible results when the government reaches the "real" players.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Thailand-to-engage-all-partners-on-equal-basis-NSC-30261355.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-01

[maidee]

countries with big armies: pure waiste of money, where in the last 70 years, was china, USA, russia invaded ? all that money waisted

same for thailand, with its 1300 millionaire generals

[Alwyn]

countries with big armies: pure waiste of money, where in the last 70 years, was china, USA, russia invaded ? all that money waisted

same for thailand, with its 1300 millionaire generals

Did you ever stop and think that maybe the reason they were not "invaded" was because of their big armies? Military power, is a better description as armies are just a part of the military

[Usernames]

Thailand keeps parroting this fantasy of theirs that they can be everyone's friend. Impossible. They will need to choose. If they choose China, the country will be thrown back into the stone age. But that is their decision. What is good for a few, will be horrendous for the many. And that is what a China alliance means.