Regional integration: Knowledge of our neighbours will be power

Language classes have come alive in schools, while Thais living on the borders have bought up land in anticipation of future price hikes.

But the AEC will also draw a more important long-term benefit – deeper knowledge of other countries’ affairs, be they political, economic or cultural.

After officials at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Thai companies operating in other Asean countries are next to feel the need to understand what’s going on there. Their operations must be adjusted accordingly. For example, while bank staff in Thailand enjoy a mid-year break on July 1, the bank holiday in Myanmar falls on October 1.

Meanwhile the freed-up flow of labour means Thai employees transplanted elsewhere will enjoy close and prolonged encounters with different cultures. As time passes, more and more of us will become familiar with the history of our neighbours. For a sustainable and prosperous future, we have to learn lessons from the past.

This trend will only gain speed after the AEC is forged at the end of next year, echoing the experience the European Union (EU) over the past few decades.

A recent four-day study visit to Poland shed some light for me on this trend. Every Pole I met praised the decision to join the EU in 2004, which channelled a huge amount of money into a nationwide infrastructure upgrade. Optimism remains high, though some officials are concerned at the scale of spending needed for Poland to catch up with countries in Western Europe. Importantly, the country has emerged from a “closed” state under communism to a modern nation more integrated with international affairs.

The Poles are more than happy with the economic success since the Iron Curtain collapsed and are eager to share their experiences with fellow Eastern Europe countries, whose history has overlapped for the past 1,000-odd years up to and including the experiment with communism.

Though most Poles agree that the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s Soviet-style imperialism is the No 1 threat, all those that I met were interested in what is going on further afield  – including politics and the economy in Thailand. Obviously, the latest military coup amazed them.

Poland and Thailand established diplomatic relations just 42 years ago. Bilateral trade is low-level, worth below US$1 billion per year. All trade is influenced by the fact that Poland is now part of the 28-member EU bloc.

 Many of the locals I chatted to were interested to know what had happened in Thailand since the military coup in 2006. News about our military governments reminded them of the strict control imposed in Poland during the communist era.  

An economist fired the obvious question at me: How has the business sector responded to the coup? Optimism is there, I answered, as long as infrastructure investment plans are kept intact.

“What about foreign companies’ reaction?” he asked.

Well, a little-known fact is that Toyota – the world’s largest automaker – recently announced it was making a huge investment in Indonesia. The plan is to turn Indonesia into the “Detroit of Asia”, a term which for years had been reserved for Thailand – where several Japanese and Western automakers have established their presence. If other foreign investors follow suit, this won’t be good news for Thailand in the long term.

I talked with a social movement-leader-turned politician, who asked when free elections would return. He offered the opinion that Thailand’s authoritarian government, shaped by years of fighting, wouldn’t lead the country towards democracy – something that gives Poland a firm place in the global community today.

A veteran journalist had a long list of questions. Aside from the election date, she asked about the public response to the coup. Her particular interest was martial law and whether it had led to any prosecutions.

In the follow-up, she asked about the status of the Yingluck government’s policies. As all appear to still be in place, but for the rice-pledging scheme, she asked how farmers had responded. Well, that will be answered when their output hits the market in March. She also asked about His Majesty the King’s health.

I asked why Poles were interested in the situation in Thailand. “Military coups anywhere in the world are always interesting,” she replied. 

I don’t know how many people in Indonesia – a key Asean member – are watching the political and economic situation in Thailand. Likewise, how many Thais know that there is fighting there over rural elections.

Certainly, this kind of knowledge will be necessary when the AEC arrives. Current affairs will define future moves, while information on the history of AEC members will be a must if we want to understand public sentiment and actions there. Public attitudes also drive government policymaking.

For Thais who care little about what folks in neighbouring countries have endured, it may be overwhelming. But in our deeply integrated world, this learning will be fruitful in the years to come.