THAIS PREPARED TO LAY GROUNDWORK FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 000787

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF ASEAN TH
SUBJECT: THAIS PREPARED TO LAY GROUNDWORK FOR
IMPLEMENTATION OF ASEAN CHARTER

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Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission James F. Entwistle, reason 1.4 (
b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: During Thailand's upcoming chairmanship of
ASEAN, the RTG would focus on how to translate the recently
signed Charter into practice, newly appointed Counselor for
the MFA's ASEAN Division Suriya Chindawongse told us in a
meeting March 5. He said that Thailand's position as ASEAN
Chair was a priority issue for the current government, and
explained that Thailand had already begun to address
development of the structural, organizational, and financial
underpinnings required for effective implementation of the
Charter. In particular, Thailand expected to expand on the
Charter's concept of a 'people-centered approach' by
highlighting the importance of enhancing economic,
transportation, and social links in the region. At the same
time, Suriya stressed the need for support to carry out this
ambitious agenda; he said Thailand stood ready to be
receptive to ideas and resources from dialogue partners,
especially the U.S. Overall, Suriya's update was long on
hopeful prospects for pan-ASEAN harmony, but short on
substance. END SUMMARY.

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THAILAND TO SET PRECEDENTS FOR ASEAN
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2. (C) Thailand is scheduled to assume the chairmanship of
ASEAN at the July 2008 Ministerial Summit to be held in
Singapore. Historically, member countries hold the chair
position for one year, from July to July. However, according
to the Charter signed by all member countries at the November
2007 ASEAN Summit, the organization would now follow the
calendar year. Therefore, if the Charter is ratified by all
ten member countries (to date only four countries -
Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, and Brunei - have ratified the
Charter),Thailand would be in the unusual position of
serving as chair for 18 months. This means that Thailand
would have significant input in ASEAN's community building
process post-Charter.


3. (C) Thailand will hold the chair of ASEAN during this
historic period due to a procedural coincidence, as the
position is rotated among all members in alphabetical order.
However, Suriya noted that Thailand had played a key role in
ASEAN's major developments to date, from the organization's
founding in 1967 to the drafting of the Charter. The RTG
viewed its upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN as a
precedent-setting opportunity to shape the future of the
regional institution. Suriya expected the MFA to have to
spend considerable time addressing organizational questions
such as development of a budget that supported the Secretary
General's new mandates, and procedural matters including how
often members would meet. Substantively, Thailand looked
forward to developing short and long term visions for the
three pillars of the Charter: political-security cooperation,
economic cooperation, and socio-cultural cooperation.

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PROMOTING INTERCONNECTIVITY IN ASEAN
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4. (C) Suriya became most enthusiastic when he discussed
Thailand's plans to support ASEAN's commitment to the
socio-cultural pillar of the Charter. He cited the ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF) as already engaging the institution on
political-security issues. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)
and the economic blueprint currently served as platforms for
economic cooperation. It was time to emphasize how ASEAN
could benefit the people. Thailand believed that a key
component of this effort was to enhance the region's
interconnectivity.


5. (C) Suriya described 'interconnectivity' as enhanced
economic, transportation, and social links in the region.

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For example, improved computer and internet connections,
increased trade and transportation links, or less restricted
movement across borders. Thailand also looked forward to
strengthening ASEAN's ability to address challenges that
faced the region. Whether it be making the ASEAN region
drug-free by 2010 or developing an effective human rights
body, Thailand planned to focus on a people-centered
approach, Suriya said. (COMMENT: This 'people-centered
approach' is ASEAN's latest catch phrase.. ASEAN Secretary
General Surin Pitsuwan, regional leaders, and even the press
have been using it quite liberally in recent months. It's
not all hype, however: Thailand's civil society sector is
more active than that of most other ASEAN member countries.
Therefore, the RTG is in a better position than many of its
neighbors to implement a strategy that incorporates this idea
of developing ASEAN to be more responsive to the people. END
COMMENT)

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INTEGRATING ALL PLAYERS IN ASEAN
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6. (C) Thailand conceived of its chairmanship as an
integrated approach to addressing ASEAN priorities, Suriya
stated. Effective implementation of the Charter would
require government, civil society, and private sector
cooperation. While each national government would identify
its own way to engage all three, as chair Thailand intended
to focus on how to include civil society and the private
sector in ASEAN's internal review process and enhance their
interface with the official track one discussions.


7. (C) Domestically, Suriya believed that Thai civil society
supported ASEAN and Thailand's ratification of the Charter.
He conceded that special interest groups, particularly in the
areas of human rights and economic security, would campaign
hard to have the RTG consider their positions. He would not
elaborate further as to how the RTG would incorporate civil
society in Thailand's ratification of the Charter, or the
country's efforts to lead ASEAN community building. He also
noted that the RTG had publicly indicated on several
occasions that the country's chairmanship of ASEAN was a
priority issue, which meant that supporting resources would
be forthcoming.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) Thailand is in the early stages of developing its plan
of action to implement the recently signed Charter once the
RTG takes over as chair of ASEAN in July. The government has
a clear sense of the daunting task it faces in this position
at what could be a crucial moment for ASEAN, as it attempts
to translate the Charter into practice. At this point, the
MFA has all its buzzwords in place - 'interconnectivity'
'people-centered approach' - but is not yet discussing how
precisely to achieve all this pan-ASEAN harmony. To
successfully accomplish its goals, the RTG will require
substantial support from across the government and Thai civil
society, in addition to support from dialogue partners such
as the USG. Suriya noted that he was passing the message to
all dialogue partners that expectations of Thailand would be
high and that the support of dialogue partners - financially
(NFI) and otherwise - would be crucial to Thailand's ability
to live up to these expectations. End Comment.

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BIOGRAPHIC NOTE
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9. (C) The Embassy welcomes Suriya's appointment as Counselor
for overseeing affairs related to Thailand's upcoming
chairmanship of ASEAN. He is known to us from previous
collaboration on the ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership

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initiative, as well as his involvement in former Foreign
Minister Surakiart's 2006 campaign for the UN Secretary
General position. The son of a former Thai Ambassador,
Suriya holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy and interacts easily with Americans. We have found
him to be a highly capable interlocutor who is responsive to
our requests and positions on sensitive issues.
JOHN