PRC-THAILAND: THAKSIN MEETS BUSINESS CRONIES AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 023354 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR WILDER, MORROW E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2031 TAGS: PREL PINR XC TH CH SUBJECT: PRC-THAILAND: THAKSIN MEETS BUSINESS CRONIES AND THAI AMBASSADOR IN CHINA, BUT NOT CHINESE OR THAI LEADERS REF: FBIS SEP200611020420001 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission David S. Sedney. Reasons 1.4 (b/d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has met with business partners and the Thai Ambassador to China since he arrived in Beijing on November 1. MFA officials said Thaksin's visit was a private one and a Thai Embassy official in Beijing confirmed that Thaksin has not met Chinese Government representatives while in the country. During Thai interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's October 28-31 visit to China for the China-ASEAN 15-year commemorative summit, he discussed with leaders from Singapore and China the subject of Thaksin's financial dealings. During the summit, Premier Wen agreed to visit Thailand in late December. General Surayud did not meet Thaksin while at the summit. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Beijing November 1 but has not met with Chinese leaders, Thai Embassy Political Officer Namon Yuthavong (protect) told us November 2. Thaksin met with Chinese business leaders with whom he had past dealings and also with Thai Ambassador to China Jullapong Nonsrichai, according to Yuthavong, whose father Yongyuth Yuthavong is Science Minister in the interim Thai Cabinet. MFA Thai Desk Officer Yan Minjun told poloff the MFA was unaware of Thaksin's visit to China. The MFA Spokesman said Thaksin's visit to Beijing was purely a private visit and there had been no official contact with the interim Thai government about it. ¶3. (C) Asked to comment about reftel report that Thai Council of National Security (CNS) General Sonthi criticized the Thai Embassy in Beijing for failing to report that Thaksin was in China, poloff Yuthavong said she had not seen the report but was not surprised. Thai Ambassador to China Nonsrichai is an old friend of Thaksin's whose appointment as Ambassador was not renewed by the interim government. Ambassador Nonsrichai participated in all of interim PM Surayud's meetings at the ASEAN-China 15-year anniversary summit in Guangxi Province before returning to Beijing November 1, she said, but has not been in the Embassy since his return to Beijing. Yuthavong said she understands that the Ambassador has been with Thaksin in at least some of Thaksin's meetings over the past two days. PM Wen to Visit Thailand; Thai Royalty to China -------------- --- ¶4. (C) In an October 31 meeting with Premier Wen at the ASEAN-China summit, interim PM Surayud thanked China for its support of the interim Thai government and its "understanding" of Thai politics, said Yuthavong, who attended the summit meetings. PM Wen agreed to visit Thailand in December after the East Asian Summit in the Philippines. PM Wen will sign a joint action plan for future Thai-PRC relations during the visit, which had been planned for late last year but was delayed due to the political turmoil in Bangkok, she said. Surayud thanked Wen for China's help in arranging planned visits by Thailand's Crown Prince, Crown Princess and youngest princess for 2007, Yuthavong said. Interim PM Discusses Thaksin Finances at ASEAN -------------- - ¶5. (C) Thaksin's financial dealings before being ousted were a significant topic in interim PM Surayud's bilateral meeting with Singapore PM Lee during the summit, Yuthavong said. Lee emphasized that Thaksin's sale of shares in a Thai telecommunications company which controls significant satellite and communications licenses was not political. Surayud said Thailand's judicial figures are investigating the matter and will deal with it according to Thai law, Yuthavong said. Thaksin's financial deals with China were a minor topic of his discussions with Premier Wen, she said. In both cases, Surayud said that parties to legal transactions with Thaksin that were not politically motivated have nothing to fear from the Thai legal investigation. ¶6. (C) At the summit, Surayud also met with the Guangxi governor, the Yunnan vice governor, the Sultan of Brunei and Burmese PM General Soe Win. Surayud agreed to visit Burma at some future time, although Yuthavong said Thailand has been BEIJING 00023354 002 OF 002 delaying that visit so that the international community does not get the impression that the Thai interim government and the unelected Burmese government are birds of a feather. No Surayud-Thaksin Meeting in China -------------- ¶7. (C) Surayud did not meet Thaksin in China, Yuthavong said. Rumors of such a meeting are false. She told poloff she was not aware of any attempts by Thaksin to communicate with Surayud or ask for permission to return to Thailand. Randt