SRI LANKA: TENTATIVE THAI RESPONSE ON CONTACT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 004374 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, SA E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2016 TAGS: MARR PINS PREL PTER CE TH SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: TENTATIVE THAI RESPONSE ON CONTACT GROUPS REF: A. STATE 107231 ¶B. STATE 94541 ¶C. BANGKOK 3522 Classified By: Political Counselor Susan M. Sutton. Reason. 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (U) This is an action cable. Please see paragraph 4. 2 (C) On July 20, poloffs had follow-up consultation with Panyarak Poolthup, Deputy Director-General from MFA's Department of South Asian Affairs and other MFA South Asian and Counter-Terrorism officials to discuss reftel demarche. Panyarak said that Thailand was interested in both the Sri Lankan weapons procurement and financing contact groups. The RTG is concerned about weapons smuggling from and through Thailand and about the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka. Panyarak agreed that Thai involvement in the proposed contact groups "made sense" and noted that participation would complement ongoing efforts to improve internal coordination of policy towards Sri Lanka. (Note: In an earlier meeting, Paisit Boonparlit from MFA's North American Division indicated that there were serious disagreements within MFA over how to respond "officially" to our request. According to Paisit, the competing UNSYG candidacies of Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart and Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala complicated the issue. End Note) ¶3. (C) Panyarak said that before committing to join the contact groups the RTG will need additional operational and logistics details, and wants to ensure the proposal has full buy-in from Colombo before proceeding. In addition, the Thai are concerned the contact groups might duplicate existing efforts, including the Sri Lankan Co-Chairs and ongoing intelligence sharing arrangements. Panyarak noted that Thailand exchanged intelligence with Sri Lanka on a regular basis bilaterally. Additionally, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) -- which includes Sri Lanka, India and Thailand -- also provided a forum for information sharing. ¶4. (C) Action request: post would appreciate additional information on the proposed contact groups including details on 1) possible meeting schedules and other logistics information; 2) how the groups will interact with the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs and other existing groupings; 3) the level of commitment from the Sri Lankan government. ARVIZU