West's influence dominates rules

Songdej Praditsmanont offered an open-minded, thoughtful and conciliatory position on the matter, but here is the problem for Thais and Asean: in addition to national laws and international laws, there has emerged a new set of global rules that apply unevenly, with different standards for different countries.

This new set of global rules sees something as a crime in one country but as an acceptable action in another, or at least not a problem worth causing an international controversy over.

In this new paradigm, for instance, egregiously violating WTO rules (in the automobile industry) is okay for the country dictating the new rules, since it goes unchallenged, but it is not allowed for others.

The problem is not so much the new global rules themselves but rather that many officials in Thailand and Asean are closing their eyes to the phenomenon. And if Thais were to thus subjugate themselves under such circumstances, there would be consequences to consider, because things could only get worse. Please think about the long-term consequences of these new global rules.

Guy Baker

Bangkok