Ex-foreign ministers urge more international diplomacy

Former foreign minister Kasit Piromya said at a panel discussion yesterday that Thailand has become more nationalistic and introverted, and it is starting to lose its internationalism.

Thailand should maintain its characteristic as a global player, and a Thai leader “should not be narrow-minded”, he said. 

“We become easily irritated by some words of the US that we start turning to Russia and China, but we shouldn’t be too cheery with those coming to sell us some toys,” Kasit said at a seminar at Thammasat University’s Tha Phrachan campus on Thai |multilateral diplomacy.

Citing the recent UN Universal Periodic Review on human rights, where Thailand was widely slammed for poor human rights practices, Kasit said that many of the recommendations from foreign countries concerned inefficient performance of functional civil servants. He suggested that the Kingdom’s image on human rights could be improved if the officers do their duties with keenness and expertise.

The military government should be more active in raising public awareness and engagement in foreign affairs, as efficient multilateral diplomacy also requires support from the people sector, he said.

Another former foreign minister Tej Bunnag, who joined the same session, agreed that all governmental agencies should be more enthusiastic in foreign affairs and work with more integrity in order to achieve successful multilateral diplomacy.

Tej cited Thailand’s current issues such as downgraded aviation standards and illegal fishery as examples that they require expertise from related agencies, not only the Foreign Ministry, to be solved. This would bring about efficient lobbying in the multilateral arena, Tej said, and that would play a crucial part in Thailand’s position in international organisations.

Tej avoided talking about politics when asked about the Kingdom’s current diplomatic situation. He only said that the diplomatic corps, as well as civil servants, always focus on the country’s interests regardless of the government in power.

Both Tej and Kasit are former senior diplomats who used to serve elected civilian governments, under Samak Sundaravej and Abhisit Vejjajiva, respectively. 

Tej said that it would be easier to cooperate with Western countries when an elected government is in power. “But westerners always recognise Thailand in the international arena regardless of how our government is formed,” he said.

Norachit Sinhaseni, another veteran envoy and also a spokesman of the Constitution Drafting Commission, differed with Tej and said foreign countries do not focus much on Thailand’s approach to democracy, including the ongoing referendum process on the charter draft.

Norachit said that it is domestic affairs that determine how one country will bring about democracy. The international community rather should focus on the timeline of when democracy will be reached.