ACTING A/S MCNERNEY URGES THAI ENDORSEMENT OF PSI

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002175

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER TH
SUBJECT: ACTING A/S MCNERNEY URGES THAI ENDORSEMENT OF PSI

Classified By: Ambassador Eric G. John, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Thai officials told ISN Acting A/S Patricia
McNerney during her late June visit that the RTG inter-agency
would need to resolve several issues prior to Thai
endorsement of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) or
the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. McNerney
urged Thailand to make "positive political statements" by
endorsing these initiatives and explained that the Thai legal
framework should not be an impediment to RTG deliberations.
MFA Permanent Secretary Virasakdi Futrakul welcomed a
proposal to develop a regional biosecurity center in Thailand
and requested more information regarding possible Thai
involvement in the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) In a late June visit, ISN Acting Assistant Secretary
Patricia McNerney met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Permanent Secretary Virasakdi Futrakul and officials from the
MFA, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Commerce, the
Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Transportation, the
National Security Council, the National Intelligence Agency,
Thai Customs, the Royal Thai Navy, the Royal Thai Army, the
Port Authority of Thailand, the Department of Industrial
Works, and the Office of Atoms for Peace.

QUESTIONS REMAIN FOR ENDORSING PSI AND GI
--------------


3. (C) Ministry of Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary
Virasakdi Futrakul told Acting A/S McNerney that the MFA
agreed with the PSI in principle but implementation could be
problematic. In particular, other RTG ministries have told
the MFA that Thai laws would need to be amended in order for
Thailand to participate in PSI. For example, Thai law would
need to be changed to allow the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) to
conduct searches of foreign vessels. McNerney stressed that
PSI is intended to fit within other countries' legal
frameworks and did not require endorsing nations to conduct
activities outside legal authorities. Virasakdi was
optimistic that the RTG could complete an inter-agency review
of PSI soon and hoped that the RTG would be able to endorse
PSI after the review.


4. (C) During her meeting with the Thai inter-agency,
McNerney discussed ongoing global proliferation concerns,
particularly relating to Syria, North Korea and Burma, and
described the utility of the PSI in dealing with these
concerns. McNerney asked that Thailand make a "positive
political statement" by endorsing the initiative and stressed
that there is not an obligation to amend national laws for
Thailand to participate in the PSI, although the PSI
contemplates that countries will continue to strengthen
national and international laws dealing with
nonproliferation. Thai participants, however, expressed
concern that legal challenges, implementation difficulties,
and potential impact on the RTG budget could make endorsement
problematic. MFA Department of International Organizations
Deputy Director General Chakarin Chayabongse explained that
the Thai parliament would have to decide whether to endorse
PSI. The Director of the MFA ASEAN Affairs Division said
that ASEAN already had a framework to deal with nuclear
proliferation in the form of the Treaty on the Southeast Asia
Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) but suggested that the
upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum meeting in Singapore would be
an opportune forum for encouraging ASEAN member states to
endorse PSI.


5. (C) The Ministry of Defense and the RTN described concerns
with potential liability if the Thai military were asked to
board a foreign vessel to seize dual-use goods. This was of
particular concern as the Ministry had been sued by a private
party in a case involving treasure hunters in Thai
territorial waters. As such, liability issues would need to
be resolved in advance of endorsement. The Department of
Industrial Works also pointed to seizure of dual-use items as
a worry, but anticipated that implementation of a national
dual-use control list, currently in development with the EU
dual-use list and U.S. laws as guidelines, would alleviate
this issue. The Marine Department explained that it had
developed a robust information sharing system with Thai
Customs and the National Intelligence Agency. This system

BANGKOK 00002175 002 OF 002


would facilitate implementation of PSI if the RTG chose to
join.


6. (C) McNerney also pushed the Thai inter-agency to explore
implementing Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism
(GI) principles to further international security. Thai
inter-agency participants said the RTG supported the GI in
principle but explained that Thailand would first need to
identify the lead government agency for implementation and
contend with a shortage of personnel as they envisioned that
the GI would commit the RTG to more activities in support of
the initiative. McNerney stated that Thailand could
participate in GI in a manner consistent with its
governmental resources and its legal authorities.

VIGILANCE ON IRAN
--------------


7. (C) ISN Acting A/S McNerney urged continued diplomatic and
economic pressure on Iran and encouraged implementation that
meets the spirit, rather than just the letter of the relevant
United Nations Security Council Resolutions. In particular,
she urged Thailand to notify local banks about the risks of
working with Iranian entities. Virasakdi promised to convey
this message to the Thai Central Bank.

AHF SHIPMENT
--------------


8. (S) McNerney raised with Virasakdi a shipment of
anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF) destined for Iran that had
been seized by the government of UAE at the Port of Dubai.
She requested that the RTG recall the shipment to Thailand,
as a Thai freight forwarder had been involved and the
transaction had originally listed Thailand as the end-use
destination. Virasakdi expressed concern that since AHF is
not specifically listed on the SC Committee list, the Thai
Customs Authority had no legal authority with which to recall
the shipment. McNerney urged Virasakdi to look beyond the
list and to consider the end-user since the UN Security
Council resolutions prohibit all exports (including dual-use
goods) that further nuclear or ballistic missile programs.
Virasakdi agreed to discuss the issue again with Thai Customs.

REGIONAL BIOSECURITY CENTER PROPOSAL WELCOMED
--------------


9. (C) Acting A/S McNerney thanked PermSec Virasakdi for the
MFA's generous assistance provided in support of the
ISN-organized biosecurity and chemical training events for
Afghani, Pakistani and Thai scientists held in Bangkok
concurrent with her visit. McNerney commended Thailand as a
leader in this field, having proven its willingness to assist
State Department efforts to enhance biological security, and
proposed working with the RTG to establish a regional
biosecurity center. Virasakdi welcomed the proposal and
referred to ongoing cooperation at the International Law
Enforcement Academy as a useful model. Further information
regarding the mode of collaboration and the scope of the
center would be welcomed by the MFA in order to coordinate
review with the appropriate Thai agency.

INTEREST IN THE GLOBAL NUCLEAR ENERGY PARTNERSHIP
-------------- --------------


10. (C) McNerney reviewed the objectives of the Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and said that the U.S.
hoped that Thailand would become a member. Virasakdi
explained that Thailand was very interested in nuclear safety
in light of ongoing nuclear energy planning and pointed to
the recent ASEAN 3 Forum on Nuclear Safety as a sign of
ASEAN's desire to promote nuclear safety. As the
Philippines, Indonesia and Burma were exploring nuclear power
programs, ASEAN would continue to explore avenues to set up
nuclear safeguards. The RTG would appreciate more
information on GNEP and perhaps ASEAN could join as a group,
Virasakdi said. McNerney noted U.S. concerns with Burmese
nuclear development.



11. (U) Acting A/S McNerney cleared this cable.
JOHN