Thailand woos India: time for an Act West policy

He also attended briefings on investment opportunities in India with the host’s senior officials and pledged to promote investment and trade as well as strengthen overall bilateral relations.

In 1996, Thailand pronounced its first “Look West Policy” aiming at India and the rest of South Asia. A senior Thai diplomat said it was time for Thailand to adopt an “Act West Policy”.

Last year, Thailand enjoyed a big trade surplus due to the early harvest scheme of 82 products agreed back in 2005, under the yet-to-be-signed free-trade agreement. Thai-made flat TV panels, air compressors and auto parts are the three biggest Thai exports to India.

Later this month, the Foreign Ministry and Chulalongkorn University’s Centre for Indian Studies will invite four Indian ambassadors from recent years to visit as guests of the Thai government to highlight the importance of Thai-India relations and to discuss India’s foreign policy under Modi.

Among the guests would be Anil Wadhwa, Secretary East, Ministry of External Affairs, who recently served in Thailand.

In addition, Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser to Modi, is visiting Thailand early next month to discuss security and strategic cooperation with his Thai counterpart, the first of its kind. He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. The Prime Minister’s Office is also planning an appropriate time for Prayut to visit India followed Modi’s invitation in February.

Back in January 2012, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra attended India’s National Day Celebration as the guest of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to herald Thailand as a strategic partner. After three years, both sides have realised that more needs to be done to move forward their relations - especially over the whole gamut of connectivity over land, sea and air. Furthermore, with the dramatic shift in the regional strategic landscape, security and strategic matters have been given priorities by the two countries’ 

security apparatuses.

Unfortunately, political uncertainty in Thailand in recent days has slowed down their interaction. As capital of the world’s largest 

democracy, New Delhi was the first major power to express an understanding of Thailand’s political development following the coup last May. At the East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Taw in November, Modi spoke out in support of political reform in the country.

The Indian prime minister knew Thailand well and appreciated the fact that when he was chief minister of Gujarat, the low-cost airline Nok Air, decided to operate a regular flight between Bangkok and Ahmedabad, Gurajat’s largest city, even though it was a short-lived operation.

On land connectivity, Thailand and India, as well as Myanmar, are pushing to complete the Trilateral Highway by next year that will link India’s least accessible Northeast region to Southeast Asia. And of course, Asean’s mainland members would be able to connect to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the Chennai Bangalore Economic Corridor.

India hopes through this highway, more goods will be able to move faster and cheaper across borders to Myanmar and Thailand as well as its neighbours. At the moment, border trade between Northeast and Myanmar is small. For instance, at the Tamu-Moreh crossing between Manipur and Sagaing only three out of 32 designated customs stations are being put to good use, due to bureaucratic red tape. Border trading posts between Thailand and Myanmar are more efficient.

Linking shipping lanes between the Indian and Pacific Oceans through port infrastructure between Chennai (India) and Dawei (Myanmar) as well as Laem Chabang (Thailand) would strengthen regional production chains. Air traffic between major cities in both countries has increased nearly three-fold over the past two years. Last year, nearly one-million Indian tourists 

visited Thailand.

Beyond the connectivity, Thailand and India are working on a possible memorandum of understanding to upgrade and strengthen their defence and strategic cooperation - covering transnational crime, counter-terrorism, disaster management and humanitarian assistance, rule of law enforcement, maritime security and intelligent exchanges.

In the mid-1990’s, when India and Thailand were the region’s two countries owning aircraft carriers, Indian defence officials discussed ways to refurbish the carrier’s missile system. But the ambitious plan did not materialise due to the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The Chakri Naruebet was subsequently decommissioned in 2006. 

Since then, India’s strategic values and expertise in missile technology have become imbedded in the minds of Thai strategists. The current National Security Blueprint (2015-2021) also gives added importance to India as a key player for the region’s stability and prosperity. The blueprint states that India’s active engagement with the region will sustain Asia’s rise. In this case, Thailand views itself as an aircraft fuselage that is being lifted by two wings, India and China.

India also has an important role to play in the emerging of a regional security architecture as it is a member of the leaders-only strategic forum known as the East Asia Summit. Delhi also strongly supports  Asean centrality over the regional scheme of things.

In a nutshell, the two countries’ strategic and economic interests are wedded. It is imperative that they must “Act Now”.