SUPPORT FOR THAI PARTICIPATION IN CHOD

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 004642 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2017 TAGS: MARR MOPS PGOV PHUM PINS PTER TH SUBJECT: SUPPORT FOR THAI PARTICIPATION IN CHOD Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Embassy Bangkok Country Team supports an invitation from PACOM to Royal Thai Supreme Commander General Boonsrang Niumpradit for this year's PACOM-sponsored Chiefs of Defense conference. Not to invite General Boonsrang would be counterproductive given his long-standing support for U.S. policy initiatives. General Boonsrang's invitation to the CHOD was not rescinded last year, despite the September coup. As Thailand has made significant progress in returning to civilian rule, it makes no sense to exclude him this year. End summary. ¶2. (U) The annual U.S. Pacific Command-sponsored Asia-Pacific Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) conference will be held this year in Hawaii October 31 - November 2. The conference brings together Chiefs of Defense from across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss security challenges and to promote regional security cooperation. This year's conference will review the present state of Asian security and means to improve long-term regional security. In 2006, representatives from twenty-two countries, including Vietnam attended the CHOD, which was co-hosted by Malaysia. China and Laos received invitations but did not to attend. ¶3. (C) Invitations for the CHOD have already been delivered to chiefs of defense from other Asian nations but a decision on whether to invite the Royal Thai Supreme Commander General Boonsrang Niumpradit has not yet been made. We understand that there may be resistance to inviting Gen. Boonsrang in light of the coup here last year. As Thailand continues to move in a positive direction in returning towards democratic rule, Embassy Bangkok Country Team believes it would be an error not to extend an invitation to Gen. Boonsrang, who was not, incidentally, one of the coup plotters. Thai voters recently approved the new constitution, and Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and Election Commission Chairman Appichart Sukkakhanont have announced that the Thai government is committed to holding general elections on December 23. In sum, the Thais are meeting their self-declared timetable for a return to a democratically elected government. ¶4. (C) General Boonsrang received an invitation last year, which was not withdrawn following the coup. Due to a schedule conflict, Royal Thai Chief of Joint Staff General Songkitti Jaggabatara attended in place of General Boonsrang. We cannot see the logic in allowing General Boonsrang to attend last year - when Thailand had not even agreed on a firm timetable to return to elected government - but shunning him this year, on the heels of the announcement of an election date. ¶5. (C) General Boonsrang will likely stay on as Supreme Commander until his retirement September 30, 2008. He has consistently been receptive to USG initiatives and could be influential in promoting common U.S.-Thai interests and multi-lateral initiatives in the coming year. General Boonsrang attended West Point and maintains close ties with senior U.S. military officers and classmates from other countries. He ably led the UN Mission in East Timor for a year, was a strong advocate for Thai participation in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and was a key player in the recent RTG pledge of an infantry battalion for the Darfur peacekeeping force. Additionally, General Boonsrang was critical to engineering Thai acceptance of the Defense Resource Management Study, pushing for the project to spur Thai defense reform and transformation. ¶6. (C) Our Country Team position is that the inter-agency process should permit PACOM to invite Gen. Boonsrang to the CHOD. The conference is a valuable dialogue aimed to promote interaction among militaries within region and to improve Asian security. In this manner, the CHOD supports our goal to encourage Thailand to take a more significant role in regional security issues such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, and peacekeeping. We do not see Thai participation as USG endorsement of the Thai coup, just as Chinese, Vietnamese or Lao participation is not an endorsement of policies of those countries. Finally, should the political situation here take a turn for the worse between now and the end of October, however, nothing would preclude us from cancelling his invitation. BOYCE