PSI: THAIS CLOSE, BUT UNLIKELY TO ENDORSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 001886

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR T, EAP, EAP/BCLTV, AC/ISN, NP/CBM, NP/RA
OSD FOR DCOOPER, LSTERN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2015
TAGS: MNUC PARM PREL KNNP ETTC AS TH PSI
SUBJECT: PSI: THAIS CLOSE, BUT UNLIKELY TO ENDORSE
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES BEFORE OMAHA

REF: A. STATE 39747


B. CANBERRA 510

C. BANGKOK 1819

D. BANGKOK 1772

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert J. Clarke. Reason 1.4(d)

This is an action request.


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Royal Thai Government (RTG) continues
to move towards formal endorsement of the Proliferation
Security Initiative (PSI) Statement of Principles (SOP) in
the near future. However, it is unlikely that the
endorsement will be made before the March 21 OEG meeting in
Omaha. Embassy requests the Department to advise whether
those Thai officials who did not fully understand our
instructed demarche should be told formally not to attend the
Omaha meeting. END SUMMARY


2. (C) On March 15, poloff discussed progress towards Thai
endorsement of the Proliferation Security Initiative
Statement of Principles (SOP) with Komgrit Varakamin,
Director of the Peace, Security and Disarmament Division of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Komgrit said that
within the Thai government there was widespread acceptance of
the PSI principles, noting "it is only a matter of time"
before the RTG endorses the SOP. He cautioned, however, that
the RTG still has to work out a few legal details of the SOP
through the intra-agency process.


3. (C) Komgrit said MFA will host a large meeting this week
with the relevant Thai agencies to discuss the SOP. He said
that a major hindrance at this point on reaching a positive
consensus is that the RTG is going through a transitional
period with the formation of a new government (reftels C, D).
Komgrit noted that the new cabinet had just been sworn in on
March 14, but reiterated that a change in leadership does not
mean a change of views on PSI, and that the RTG widely looks
favorably on adoption of the Statement of Principles.


4. (C) COMMENT/ACTION REQUEST: Foreign Minister Surakiart,
who last week indicated to the Ambassador that he would
personally take charge of the effort to forge a final RTG
consensus on PSI, was unexpectedly removed from his position
at MFA and "kicked upstairs" to be Deputy Prime Minister in
the cabinet reshuffle. Komgrit indicated that Surakiart had
followed through on his promise to follow up on PSI within
the Ministry. However, Surakiart's departure from MFA, along
with the many new faces in other relevant agencies throughout
the RTG, suggest that it is unlikely that the Thai will be
able to endorse the PSI SOP before March 21.


5. (C) Komgrit made it clear that the MFA understood the
message delivered through last week's instructed demarche
(reftel A, D): that a welcome for Thai participation in the
OEG is conditioned on prior RTG endorsement of the SOP.
However, MFA did not convey to other Thai agencies that they
should not to send representatives to the OEG without
endorsement. We understand that both the Thai Navy and the
Thai Customs Department have made plans to send one delegate
each to Omaha, even though it is unlikely that the Thais will
be able to endorse the SOP before the 21st.


6. (C) As stated in reftel D, Embassy recommends that we do
not/not exclude the Thai from participation in the Omaha OEG.
Post requests Department guidance on whether or not we
should formally tell the RTG operational elements to drop
their plans to attend the Omaha meeting because they have not
endorsed the SOP. END COMMENT/ACTION REQUEST
BOYCE