Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BANGKOK1957
2007-04-04 05:03:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bangkok
Cable title:  

RTG APPROACH TO DRAFTING THE ASEAN CHARTER

Tags:  PREL PHUM SENV ASEAN XC BMGT TH 
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VZCZCXRO3775
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHBK #1957/01 0940503
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 040503Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6034
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 5162
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001957 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM SENV ASEAN XC BMGT TH
SUBJECT: RTG APPROACH TO DRAFTING THE ASEAN CHARTER

Classified By: Political Officer J.R. Littlejohn, reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)

SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001957

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM SENV ASEAN XC BMGT TH
SUBJECT: RTG APPROACH TO DRAFTING THE ASEAN CHARTER

Classified By: Political Officer J.R. Littlejohn, reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The RTG will not support a change from
consensus-based decision-making in ASEAN, and the Thais have
demonstrated little interest in creating ASEAN mechanisms for
sanctioning member states. As the RTG participates in
deliberations on the ASEAN Charter, the legislature has
solicited views from a decent cross-section of civil society
groups. The RTG opposes creating a fourth environmental
pillar, a suggestion coming out of the ASEAN Civil Society
Organization (CSO) in the Philippines, preferring to spread
environmental issues across the existing three pillars
(political-security, economic, and socio-cultural) instead.
Early expressions of hope that the ASEAN Charter would move
the organization away from its dependence on consensus and
create mechanisms for pressuring ASEAN members that fail to
uphold or advance democratic norms are dwindling. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) On April 3, MFA official Kanitha Sap-Paisal offered
us an overview of the RTG contribution to the ASEAN Charter
drafting process. Kanitha is a member of the MFA's
High-Level Task Force (HLTF) Working Group charged with
planning and drafting Thailand's views on the Charter.
Kanitha said that Deputy Permanent Secretary Sihasak
Phuangketkeow will no longer serve as Thailand's
representative on the ASEAN HLTF, which includes
representatives from each country. Sihasak is scheduled to
depart Thailand for a new assignment in Geneva and his
replacement on the HLTF is expected to be named in the coming
weeks.

RTG'S APPROACH TO DRAFTING THE ASEAN CHARTER
--------------


3. (SBU) According to Kanitha, Thailand's HLTF member
oversees a working group within the MFA that covers certain
day-to-day drafting procedures. Once a draft is complete the
RTG holds interagency meetings to solicit buy-in from the
NSC, Police Bureau, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Health,

Ministry of Education, and other relevant ministries. Any
changes or new drafts are delivered to the HLTF
representative for review before tabling the new sections for
discussions with the other nine representatives on the HLTF.
Once the HLTF agrees on appropriate language to integrate
into the Charter, the Foreign Minister and ultimately the
Prime Minister are given drafts for approval.


4. (C) The HLTF members will meet several times before the
draft Charter is completed in October. Kanitha said the HLTF
plans to start holding discussions on each of the three
pillars beginning in May. At this point, she did not express
concerns with the pace of the drafting process or problems
submitting a draft Charter to ASEAN's leaders at the 13th
ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November 2007.

RTG POSITION ON KEY CHARTER ISSUES
--------------


5. (C) According to Kanitha, the RTG supports the Eminent
Persons Group (EPG) recommendations to establish permanent
representatives of member states to ASEAN based in Jakarta,
and to accredit ambassadors from ASEAN's dialogue partners.


6. (C) The RTG supports the EPG recommendation to develop a
special fund for narrowing the development gap with
contributions from member states. However, the Thai prefer
compulsory contributions whereas the EPG recommended
voluntary donations. The Thai are floating the idea of a
budget based on equal contributions, or one using
contributions calculated on a country's capacity to pay. The
Thai are not convinced that a voluntary budget will produce
desired results.


7. (C) Kanitha confirmed recent reporting that member
states, including Thailand, are having difficulty addressing
recommendations to establish a Dispute Settlement Mechanism
(DSM). The disagreements range from having a DSM for each
individual "pillar" of ASEAN (political/security, economic,
and social/cultural) to determining how to address serious
breaches of ASEAN objectives, and important agreements.
Burma (and to some extent Laos) are viewed as the primary
states of concern. She confirmed that governments are not
inclined to use sanctions on fellow ASEAN members, but they
are looking for some mechanism or language that would help in
the event of serious disputes.

BANGKOK 00001957 002 OF 002




8. (C) The RTG suggests that consensus should remain the
primary basis for decision making. However, the RTG suggests
that in the case of non-sensitive issues (i.e., procedural or
economic matters) some form of majority voting could be
acceptable.

THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE CHARTER DRAFTING PROCESS
-------------- --------------


9. (C) The RTG and all member states are supposed to engage
civil society in the Charter drafting process to ensure its
broad acceptance. In Thailand, during the last week of
March, the Parliament coordinated a meeting with the MFA in
which 100 participants attended from various NGOs and
academia. Civil society groups were said to appreciate the
opportunity to share their views, but advocated further
enhancing their participation in ASEAN. Kanitha recalled
that some groups expressed an interest in labor protection,
but comments varied greatly depending on the interests of the
NGO offering suggestions. Kanitha confided that, while the
RTG is trying to make this an inclusive process, NGOs may
have to temper their expectations.


10. (C) Briefly commenting on the ASEAN Civil Society
Organization (CSO) meeting held recently in Manila, Kanitha
said the MFA had not yet met internally to discuss the
suggestions made at that meeting. However, she did say that
Thailand believed each existing "pillar" of ASEAN should
address environmental issues, rather than the Charter
creating a new environmental pillar. However, the idea is
still under consideration.


11. (C) Kanitha said that each ASEAN member was supposed to
send six representatives to the CSO meeting in Manila. The
RTG tapped a few well-known figures to participate in this
meeting, including journalist Kavi Chongkittavorn and Sunai
Phasuk from Human Rights Watch-Thailand. Also selected were
representatives from the Southeast Press Alliance, the Focus
on Global South, the Coordinator for Peoples Empowerment, the
Southeast Asian Committee for Advocacy, and a member of the
Political Science faculty at Chulalongkorn University.

RTG SUPRISINGLY TAKES THE LEAD ON HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISM
-------------- --------------


12. (C) Kanitha said the RTG was leading the charge on
introducing a mechanism to address human rights issues in the
ASEAN Charter. However, she quickly admitted that the
details, including functions and composition of such a
mechanism would need to be figured out "at some time in the
future."

COMMENT
--------------


13. (C) Optimists have expressed hope that the ASEAN Charter
would move the organization away from its dependence on
consensus and create mechanisms for pressuring ASEAN members
-- notably Burma -- that fail to uphold or advance democratic
norms. From our initial soundings of MFA contacts, however,
the Thai appear disinclined to take dramatic steps. We will
continue to monitor and report on Thai views on the ASEAN
Charter as it takes shape.
ARVIZU