BURMA: THAI FM VISIT?

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 001213 SIPDIS TREASURY FOR OASIA JEFF NEIL USPACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2013 TAGS: PREL ECON BM TH SUBJECT: BURMA: THAI FM VISIT? Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez for Reasons 1.5 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Thai Embassy officials in Rangoon deny press reports that Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai came to Rangoon for a one day visit on September 25, but said he will be coming for a visit next week. However, other local diplomatic sources and international press stringers insist that the Thai FM arrived in Rangoon this morning on a private plane for official business. Additional sources speculate that he came to town to meet SPDC leaders to discuss the regime's seven-point "Road Map to Democracy," as well as issues related to the upcoming ASEAN summit in Bali. British Embassy Rangoon reports that their colleagues in Bangkok believe Surakiart "definitely" came to Rangoon for the day. ¶2. (C) Comment: We gather that it would not be unusual for the Thai Embassy to be uninformed about a "quiet diplomacy" visit of their Foreign Minister or other senior Thai officials. However, Thai diplomats here have informed us that Prime Minister Thaksin is expected in Rangoon in November, along with his Cambodian and Lao counterparts, for a meeting of the "Economic Cooperation Strategy (ECS)," apparently a Thai initiative aimed at bringing poor ASEAN performers up to speed with the rest of the region. Martinez