Thailand has traditionally had a very close relationship with China for decades; but no more. This is not because any major differences have surfaced between the two countries, but because China is today as friendly to other ASEAN nations as it is to Thailand. This has bugged Bangkok. This was evident in the February 2011 Thailand-Cambodia border clashes when China took a neutral stand. A decade earlier, China would have had openly supported Thailand. The Thai government must not have missed the message: one who is friend to all is friend to none.
It is against the backdrop of this Thai unease with China that the State visit of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to India (April 4-5, 2011) should be seen. Thailand is increasingly getting suspicious of China. India has been wary of China for decades and China too looks at India as a potential rival at the regional and global stage. Therefore, when Vejjajiva visited India, both sides had a strategic agenda at the back their minds. The outcome of Vejjajiva’s talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggests that the two leaders are going to take the India-Thailand bilateral relationship to a higher level, imbued with strategic overtones. Here is how.
India and Thailand held a summit in New Delhi on April 5 and agreed to take their already vibrant relationship to the next level by concluding at the earliest such bilateral documents as Extradition Treaty, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Civil and Commercial Matters and Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Significantly, the Trilateral Highway connecting India to Thailand via Myanmar came up for discussion during this summit and the two leaders reiterated their commitment to realization of the proposed highway to enhance regional transport networks. The highway, while promoting trade and people to people contacts, will also help revive the shared cultural contacts and the ancient routes of knowledge and pilgrimage, the two prime ministers underlined. The importance of Vejjajiva’s two-day trip to India can be gauged by the fact that he came here on a state visit; in international diplomacy, a “state visit” is the highest type of a visit by a foreign dignitary, much higher than a “working visit” or an “official visit”.
Another pointer to the seriousness Vejjajiva attached to his India visit is that he was accompanied by some key officials in his government, including the Foreign Minister, the Industry Minister, the Deputy Minister of Commerce, and the President of the Thai Trade Representative Office. Appropriately, the Thai Prime Minister also met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, and also attended a business luncheon hosted by three Indian chambers of commerce.
The two Prime Ministers agreed to energize bilateral institutional mechanisms, enhance cooperation in security matters and to upgrade the bilateral dialogue on defense matters. The two countries already have an on-going programme of defense cooperation, characterized by a number of exchanges between the armed forces of both countries, joint exercises and participation in each others' defense training programmes. However, in today’s environment this engagement is inadequate and far too short of the potential. In view of this, the two leaders decided to establish a regular High-Level Dialogue on Defense Cooperation between the Ministries of Defense of both countries in the near future, details of which would be finalized in near future. Once this mechanism is formally set up, it would regularly review all the elements of bilateral defense cooperation, including in the area of defense industry and technology. The Dialogue would also include discussions on a bilateral MoU on Defense Cooperation.
Another important area of India-Thailand bilateral cooperation that came up for some focused discussion at the Singh-Vejjajiva summit pertained to terrorism. They decided to substantively enhance counter-terrorism bilateral cooperation and take effective steps in restricting transnational movement and unauthorized stay of known terrorists in each other's countries. And yes, the two leaders also mouthed the routine condemnation of terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations” and stressed that there could be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.
The strategic location of Thailand in the heart of South East Asia makes it impossible for today’s globe-trotting terrorists’ leaders to skip the country. That is why an extradition treaty and real-time intelligence sharing would go a long way in combating the menace of terrorism. In view of this, it is a welcome decision by Singh and Vejjajiva to commit their countries to improve sharing of intelligence, the development of more effective counter-terrorism policies, enhance liaison between law enforcement agencies, provide assistance in the areas of border and immigration control to stem the flow of terrorist related material, money and people and specific measures against transnational crimes, through the already existing mechanisms between Thailand and India. To ensure that all this is not reduced to a mere talking shop, the two leaders decided to bring their counter-terrorism cooperation under the rubric of an institutionalized mechanism. To achieve this objective, they agreed that the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Security Cooperation, the sixth one in the series, will be held within the next six months.
India and Thailand have also agreed to intensify their cooperation in the crucial area of combating sea piracy. The two sides discussed measures to enhance their joint patrolling of the sea lanes and agreed to increase the duration and frequency of such patrols to deal with pirates who are increasingly getting more aggressive and ambitious in their high-profit, low-risk business. The two sides will also explore the possibilities of synergizing their respective Coast Guard operations and sharing their experiences for larger benefit. In this context, the Prime Minister of Thailand expressed his appreciation at a string of recent actions by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard which led to the successful release of several Thai nationals who had been the victims of piracy in the Indian Ocean.
In keeping with the contemporary trends in international diplomacy wherein no foreign dignitary’s visit to another country is complete without an in-depth discussion on boosting mutual trade, India and Thailand too had their due share of the economic diplomacy during Vejjajiva’s visit. The India-Thailand bilateral trade has grown six times in ten years to $ 6.7 billion and the two sides resolved on April 5, 2011 to double it by 2014. The target can be easily achieved as the two sides are at an advanced stage of negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and hope to clinch it later this year. India already has an FTA with ASEAN which has been operational since January 1, 2010.
The Thai Prime Minister said “Thailand’s Look-West Policy sets the stage in consolidating our substantive bilateral engagement” and expressed the hope that the trade between the two countries will hit $10 billion mark by the end of next year. Vejjajiva also had a substantive business meeting with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Sharma urged him to come up with large investments in two sunrise sectors in India: infrastructure and agro-processing. Sharma told the Thai Prime Minister that these two sectors are likely to see investments of over one trillion dollars and $200 billion respectively in next five years. He also pointed out that India has allowed 100% foreign direct investment in agro-processing sector and Thai investors with their strengths in agro-processing would be invaluable partners. Sharma stressed the value of Thai partnership in developing the entire value chain of agriculture including investments in agro-processing to curb post-harvest wastage which is unacceptably high (30-35% of the total produce). He called for Thai companies to invest in developing cold-chains, warehouses and food processing facilities which will be a contribution not just to the Indian economy but also to global food security.
The writer is a New Delhi-based strategic analyst and journalist since early 1982 who has authored five non-fiction books on issues like international relations and terrorism.
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Thailand Cozies Up to India
April 18, 2011
Thailand has traditionally had a very close relationship with China for decades; but no more. This is not because any major differences have surfaced between the two countries, but because China is today as friendly to other ASEAN nations as it is to Thailand. This has bugged Bangkok. This was evident in the February 2011 Thailand-Cambodia border clashes when China took a neutral stand. A decade earlier, China would have had openly supported Thailand. The Thai government must not have missed the message: one who is friend to all is friend to none.
It is against the backdrop of this Thai unease with China that the State visit of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to India (April 4-5, 2011) should be seen. Thailand is increasingly getting suspicious of China. India has been wary of China for decades and China too looks at India as a potential rival at the regional and global stage. Therefore, when Vejjajiva visited India, both sides had a strategic agenda at the back their minds. The outcome of Vejjajiva’s talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggests that the two leaders are going to take the India-Thailand bilateral relationship to a higher level, imbued with strategic overtones. Here is how.
India and Thailand held a summit in New Delhi on April 5 and agreed to take their already vibrant relationship to the next level by concluding at the earliest such bilateral documents as Extradition Treaty, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty in Civil and Commercial Matters and Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Significantly, the Trilateral Highway connecting India to Thailand via Myanmar came up for discussion during this summit and the two leaders reiterated their commitment to realization of the proposed highway to enhance regional transport networks. The highway, while promoting trade and people to people contacts, will also help revive the shared cultural contacts and the ancient routes of knowledge and pilgrimage, the two prime ministers underlined. The importance of Vejjajiva’s two-day trip to India can be gauged by the fact that he came here on a state visit; in international diplomacy, a “state visit” is the highest type of a visit by a foreign dignitary, much higher than a “working visit” or an “official visit”.
Another pointer to the seriousness Vejjajiva attached to his India visit is that he was accompanied by some key officials in his government, including the Foreign Minister, the Industry Minister, the Deputy Minister of Commerce, and the President of the Thai Trade Representative Office. Appropriately, the Thai Prime Minister also met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, and also attended a business luncheon hosted by three Indian chambers of commerce.
The two Prime Ministers agreed to energize bilateral institutional mechanisms, enhance cooperation in security matters and to upgrade the bilateral dialogue on defense matters. The two countries already have an on-going programme of defense cooperation, characterized by a number of exchanges between the armed forces of both countries, joint exercises and participation in each others' defense training programmes. However, in today’s environment this engagement is inadequate and far too short of the potential. In view of this, the two leaders decided to establish a regular High-Level Dialogue on Defense Cooperation between the Ministries of Defense of both countries in the near future, details of which would be finalized in near future. Once this mechanism is formally set up, it would regularly review all the elements of bilateral defense cooperation, including in the area of defense industry and technology. The Dialogue would also include discussions on a bilateral MoU on Defense Cooperation.
Another important area of India-Thailand bilateral cooperation that came up for some focused discussion at the Singh-Vejjajiva summit pertained to terrorism. They decided to substantively enhance counter-terrorism bilateral cooperation and take effective steps in restricting transnational movement and unauthorized stay of known terrorists in each other's countries. And yes, the two leaders also mouthed the routine condemnation of terrorism “in all its forms and manifestations” and stressed that there could be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.
The strategic location of Thailand in the heart of South East Asia makes it impossible for today’s globe-trotting terrorists’ leaders to skip the country. That is why an extradition treaty and real-time intelligence sharing would go a long way in combating the menace of terrorism. In view of this, it is a welcome decision by Singh and Vejjajiva to commit their countries to improve sharing of intelligence, the development of more effective counter-terrorism policies, enhance liaison between law enforcement agencies, provide assistance in the areas of border and immigration control to stem the flow of terrorist related material, money and people and specific measures against transnational crimes, through the already existing mechanisms between Thailand and India. To ensure that all this is not reduced to a mere talking shop, the two leaders decided to bring their counter-terrorism cooperation under the rubric of an institutionalized mechanism. To achieve this objective, they agreed that the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Security Cooperation, the sixth one in the series, will be held within the next six months.
India and Thailand have also agreed to intensify their cooperation in the crucial area of combating sea piracy. The two sides discussed measures to enhance their joint patrolling of the sea lanes and agreed to increase the duration and frequency of such patrols to deal with pirates who are increasingly getting more aggressive and ambitious in their high-profit, low-risk business. The two sides will also explore the possibilities of synergizing their respective Coast Guard operations and sharing their experiences for larger benefit. In this context, the Prime Minister of Thailand expressed his appreciation at a string of recent actions by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard which led to the successful release of several Thai nationals who had been the victims of piracy in the Indian Ocean.
In keeping with the contemporary trends in international diplomacy wherein no foreign dignitary’s visit to another country is complete without an in-depth discussion on boosting mutual trade, India and Thailand too had their due share of the economic diplomacy during Vejjajiva’s visit. The India-Thailand bilateral trade has grown six times in ten years to $ 6.7 billion and the two sides resolved on April 5, 2011 to double it by 2014. The target can be easily achieved as the two sides are at an advanced stage of negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and hope to clinch it later this year. India already has an FTA with ASEAN which has been operational since January 1, 2010.
The Thai Prime Minister said “Thailand’s Look-West Policy sets the stage in consolidating our substantive bilateral engagement” and expressed the hope that the trade between the two countries will hit $10 billion mark by the end of next year. Vejjajiva also had a substantive business meeting with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Sharma urged him to come up with large investments in two sunrise sectors in India: infrastructure and agro-processing. Sharma told the Thai Prime Minister that these two sectors are likely to see investments of over one trillion dollars and $200 billion respectively in next five years. He also pointed out that India has allowed 100% foreign direct investment in agro-processing sector and Thai investors with their strengths in agro-processing would be invaluable partners. Sharma stressed the value of Thai partnership in developing the entire value chain of agriculture including investments in agro-processing to curb post-harvest wastage which is unacceptably high (30-35% of the total produce). He called for Thai companies to invest in developing cold-chains, warehouses and food processing facilities which will be a contribution not just to the Indian economy but also to global food security.
The writer is a New Delhi-based strategic analyst and journalist since early 1982 who has authored five non-fiction books on issues like international relations and terrorism.
