Bangkok--Sep 12--MFA
Opening Remarks by Mr. Norachit Sinhaseni, Deputy Permanent-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, at the ARF Workshop on Stabilization and Reconstruction Issues, 11 September 2008, Bangkok
Mr. Chairmen,
Mr. Blair Hall,
Director-General Vitavas Srivihok,
ARF friends and colleagues,
Good morning to you all,
1. It is a pleasure to extend a warm welcome to the participants of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on Stabilization and Reconstruction Issues, co-organized and co-chaired by Thailand and the United States.
2. From its birth in Bangkok 15 years ago to the present day, the ARF has evolved into an important forum contributing to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Through its many activities, the ARF has helped promote greater trust and confidence amongst participants.
3. This ARF Workshop is the result of increased comfort level amongst ARF participants to engage in exchanges of experiences on issues that promote shared interests and address common concerns. Helping countries which have suffered the effects of armed conflicts or natural disasters is of interest and benefit to us all.
4. In many cases, the end of conflict can create vulnerable situations for a country. If there are no effective stabilization and reconstruction measures that can help the country maintain stability, there is the possibility that conflicts may recur. Similarly, in a post-natural disaster situation, if there are no effective stabilization and reconstruction measures, new problems could emerge. Public health threats from contagious diseases, environmental degradation or social problems caused by population dislocations, if unaddressed, can hamper a country’s return to stability and economic development. This is why this Workshop is important.
Distinguished Participants,
5. You all bring to this workshop your extensive experience and knowledge on peacekeeping and reconstruction and rehabilitation process but I thought it might be useful and help set the tone for this workshop if I were to give you a brief summary of Thailand’s experiences in the United Nations and international peacekeeping operations. While our participation in United Nations PKO operations as monitoring and observation teams, our participation on a large scale did not begin until the 1990’s in Cambodia where we sent 2 battalions of engineers to help in the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts as well as medical and mine clearing teams.
6. Our next large scale involvement was in East Timor. Naturally, we sent our best and brightest. The Deputy Force Commander of INTERFET was General Songkitti Jaggabatara, the incoming Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces who will assume his position in about 2 weeks time.
The Force Commander of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was General Boonsrang Niumpradit, the present Supreme Commander of the Thai Armed Forces. Mr. Blair and our US colleagues will be proud and happy to learn that he is a member of “the Long Grey Line”, having graduated from the US Military Academy of West Point. General Boonsrang in turn was succeeded as FC by General Winai Pattariyakul, our Permanent Secretary for Defence.
7. Subsequently, Thailand participated in a number of United Nations Peacekeeping and Observation Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone and Burundi. We have also agreed to the UN request to send an infantry battalion to the Sudan and are waiting for an approval from the Sudanese Government and deployment instruction from the United Nations.
8. In response to natural disasters, military and civilian personnel have been dispatched to provide necessary assistance to countries affected by natural disasters such as the earthquakes in Iran in 2003, the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 and most recently the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. In the latter case, the Thai military airlift of humanitarian supplies was the first to arrive in Yangon within 3 days of the disaster.
9. In 2006, Thailand established a Peace Operations Centre under the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters to provide personnel training and prepare technical support for peace operations. So far, the centre has trained more than 1,000 troops in preparation for participation in future UN peacekeeping operations.
Distinguished participants,
10. Ultimately, this Workshop and the networks of cooperation that it produces, will help contribute to building further trust and confidence within the ARF itself. Through increased comfort level, we should be able to advance from confidence-building towards preventive diplomacy in a phased and prudent manner and develop the ARF as a premier regional security institution that will remain relevant in the evolving regional security architecture.
11. It is therefore my hope that with the many experts, both civilian and military, gathered together at this Workshop, we can have a healthy and fruitful exchange of ideas, and concrete recommendations, on how to best support stabilization and reconstruction efforts, working in close cooperation with the affected country and with the support of the international community.
12. Finally, I join DG Vitavas in thanking both the US State Department and the US Embassy for their cooperation in co-chairing this Workshop with us as well as the Thai Armed Forces Peacekeeping Operations Centre and the Royal Thai Police. Let me now wish this inaugural ARF activity for this inter-sessional year 2008-2009 under Thailand’s ARF Chairmanship every success. Let me also wish all of you a happy and pleasant stay in Thailand.
13. Thank you.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Division, Department of Information Tel.(02) 643-5170
Fax. (02) 643-5169 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th End.
-PM-
Opening Remarks by Mr. Norachit Sinhaseni, Deputy Permanent-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, at the ARF Workshop on Stabilization and Reconstruction Issues, 11 September 2008, Bangkok
Mr. Chairmen,
Mr. Blair Hall,
Director-General Vitavas Srivihok,
ARF friends and colleagues,
Good morning to you all,
1. It is a pleasure to extend a warm welcome to the participants of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on Stabilization and Reconstruction Issues, co-organized and co-chaired by Thailand and the United States.
2. From its birth in Bangkok 15 years ago to the present day, the ARF has evolved into an important forum contributing to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Through its many activities, the ARF has helped promote greater trust and confidence amongst participants.
3. This ARF Workshop is the result of increased comfort level amongst ARF participants to engage in exchanges of experiences on issues that promote shared interests and address common concerns. Helping countries which have suffered the effects of armed conflicts or natural disasters is of interest and benefit to us all.
4. In many cases, the end of conflict can create vulnerable situations for a country. If there are no effective stabilization and reconstruction measures that can help the country maintain stability, there is the possibility that conflicts may recur. Similarly, in a post-natural disaster situation, if there are no effective stabilization and reconstruction measures, new problems could emerge. Public health threats from contagious diseases, environmental degradation or social problems caused by population dislocations, if unaddressed, can hamper a country’s return to stability and economic development. This is why this Workshop is important.
Distinguished Participants,
5. You all bring to this workshop your extensive experience and knowledge on peacekeeping and reconstruction and rehabilitation process but I thought it might be useful and help set the tone for this workshop if I were to give you a brief summary of Thailand’s experiences in the United Nations and international peacekeeping operations. While our participation in United Nations PKO operations as monitoring and observation teams, our participation on a large scale did not begin until the 1990’s in Cambodia where we sent 2 battalions of engineers to help in the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts as well as medical and mine clearing teams.
6. Our next large scale involvement was in East Timor. Naturally, we sent our best and brightest. The Deputy Force Commander of INTERFET was General Songkitti Jaggabatara, the incoming Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces who will assume his position in about 2 weeks time.
The Force Commander of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was General Boonsrang Niumpradit, the present Supreme Commander of the Thai Armed Forces. Mr. Blair and our US colleagues will be proud and happy to learn that he is a member of “the Long Grey Line”, having graduated from the US Military Academy of West Point. General Boonsrang in turn was succeeded as FC by General Winai Pattariyakul, our Permanent Secretary for Defence.
7. Subsequently, Thailand participated in a number of United Nations Peacekeeping and Observation Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone and Burundi. We have also agreed to the UN request to send an infantry battalion to the Sudan and are waiting for an approval from the Sudanese Government and deployment instruction from the United Nations.
8. In response to natural disasters, military and civilian personnel have been dispatched to provide necessary assistance to countries affected by natural disasters such as the earthquakes in Iran in 2003, the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 and most recently the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. In the latter case, the Thai military airlift of humanitarian supplies was the first to arrive in Yangon within 3 days of the disaster.
9. In 2006, Thailand established a Peace Operations Centre under the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters to provide personnel training and prepare technical support for peace operations. So far, the centre has trained more than 1,000 troops in preparation for participation in future UN peacekeeping operations.
Distinguished participants,
10. Ultimately, this Workshop and the networks of cooperation that it produces, will help contribute to building further trust and confidence within the ARF itself. Through increased comfort level, we should be able to advance from confidence-building towards preventive diplomacy in a phased and prudent manner and develop the ARF as a premier regional security institution that will remain relevant in the evolving regional security architecture.
11. It is therefore my hope that with the many experts, both civilian and military, gathered together at this Workshop, we can have a healthy and fruitful exchange of ideas, and concrete recommendations, on how to best support stabilization and reconstruction efforts, working in close cooperation with the affected country and with the support of the international community.
12. Finally, I join DG Vitavas in thanking both the US State Department and the US Embassy for their cooperation in co-chairing this Workshop with us as well as the Thai Armed Forces Peacekeeping Operations Centre and the Royal Thai Police. Let me now wish this inaugural ARF activity for this inter-sessional year 2008-2009 under Thailand’s ARF Chairmanship every success. Let me also wish all of you a happy and pleasant stay in Thailand.
13. Thank you.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Division, Department of Information Tel.(02) 643-5170
Fax. (02) 643-5169 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th End.
-PM-