กรุงเทพฯ--12 มี.ค.--กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ
Q: You mentioned that you wanted to restore some of Thailand s international relations. I was wondering where you would like to see the restoration take place.
A: Our priority would be towards improving relations with our neighbouring countries, particularly our immediate neighbours. Although relations has been very good in many fields, one has to accept that there are still some problematic areas that need to be fixed. The relationship with neighbouring countries would have to be good. We have to build trust and confidence. Our neighbours must be convinced that Thailand is following our own foreign policy that is independent from any foreign interference.
Q: On personal diplomacy, I think the concern usually is not so much your personal diplomacy but the fact that the possibility of the military sorting it out personal diplomacy What is the Foreign Ministry s position on that? Will you allow the Defence Ministry to start participating in foreign policy again?
A: Like I said at the outset that personal diplomacy, if employed properly, will render great benefit to the relations among countries, especially countries in Asia. We have coordinated from the very beginning of this government with the military, with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence quite closely on the way in which we will be moving forward and restoring relations - well, some aspects of the relations with our neighbouring countries. If the relationship between military personnel could help move the discussion forward into the direction that we would like to see, into the direction of the formal framework that has already established, that is something that we would support. But personal relationships that move the discussions into something that is outside the formal framework agreed upon will not be encouraged.
Q: View on relations with Myanmar
A: As I said before, the relationship with neighbouring countries has to be good. We have to build trust and I think so far we have received cordial messages from leaders in Myanmar and we have sent also cordial and amicable messages to leaders in Myanmar. I think the attitude of the leaders in Myanmar and in Thailand have shifted in favour of building trust and confidence with one another which will open the way for further cooperation in areas of mutual concern. One area that has been a top priority for Thailand is the eradication of drugs.
Q: Could you explain what you mean by a foreign policy guided by Asian values? Does it mean that Thailand will be less activist or interventionist in helping solve problems in the region such as the Trioka situation in Cambodia?
A: Well, I said before that Thailand stands ready to work with neighbouring countries in solving problems of mutual concern. But when I talked about the Asian way, what I meant is that Asian people have a special personality and characteristic, for example, Asian people do not like confrontation. We are not ever serious society. We have pedestrians who may slip into the drainage system, but they are not going to court and suing the Bangkok Municipality, unlike my lawyer friends in New York or Washington who are making a fortune suing the Municipality. The Asian people, as we all know, consider face saving as something very important. Face saving is one of the special traits of Asian people. You can disagree, on many issues and you can agree to disagree but you are not supposed to embark into situations where you do not save your friend's face. So these are the characteristics of Asian people and there are many more, but I am not supposed to give a lecture on Asian cultures in this room. These are the characteristics that I think we have to take into account when we talk to Asian friends. I am not talking about foreign policy, but more in terms of how to approach people, and you can find a lot of literature on this. There are lots of books written about how to approach the Japanese people, how to approach the Thais, books for Westerners, to read on communicating with Thais and you also have books on how to communicate with the Americans, the Europeans, the continental Europeans and the British for the Asian readers. I think that s a normal part of diplomacy but what I have to stress is that several times I was asked whether I should say that or whether I should say this or why I did this, why I didn t do that. So I just would like to mention to the public that we have to take this special characteristic into account and you have to understand this special characteristic of the Asian people and there are ways in which we can work together to address problems. If it is a domestic problem of a neighbouring country, we should do it in an Asian way. Asian way doesn t mean that you do not respect human rights, Asian way doesn t mean that we do not respect democracy, Asian way doesn t mean that we do not work together for democratisation. In the case of Cambodia where we worked together in the past; we talked a lot about the situation inside Cambodia, not only by Thailand, but also Japan, the United States, Indonesia and even France, but that was not considered as an issue of interference or intervention into domestic affairs . In fact, according to the UN Charter, it is very clear that one should not intervene into the domestic affairs of another country but there s an Asian way that allows you to work together and to help each other solve problems. But before we can get to that stage, we must build enough trust and confidence with one another so that one would be able to go to another person and say that I have this problem and see whether there are other ways to work out the problems. It would also be necessary for the other person to trust you and talk about it.
Q: How would you apply this Asian way argument in solving specifically the case of Aung San Sukyi in Myanmar? ASEAN has used this policy for a long time but has not achieved much success, how do you think it will be possible?
A: I think what is happening right now is a part of the Asian way of doing things and I support this particular development very much indeed. I think Razali has done an excellent job within the normal framework but with the delicate understanding of the people in Myanmar, of the internal situation in Myanmar and also the situation in this region. I think Prime Minister Mahathir has also done a very good job . There are so many details that I m aware of, because I was the Chairman of PTT s exploration and production and have been involved in the negotiations and understand how it started and how it is building into a formal channel. In fact, that is a very good example also of the Asian way and we support that development towards, hopefully, national reconciliation in Myanmar.
กองการสื่อมวลชน กรมสารนิเทศ กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ โทร. 643-5105 โทรสาร. 643-5106-7Press Division, Department of Information Tel. 643-5105 Fax. 643-5106-7 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th-- จบ--
-อน*
Q: You mentioned that you wanted to restore some of Thailand s international relations. I was wondering where you would like to see the restoration take place.
A: Our priority would be towards improving relations with our neighbouring countries, particularly our immediate neighbours. Although relations has been very good in many fields, one has to accept that there are still some problematic areas that need to be fixed. The relationship with neighbouring countries would have to be good. We have to build trust and confidence. Our neighbours must be convinced that Thailand is following our own foreign policy that is independent from any foreign interference.
Q: On personal diplomacy, I think the concern usually is not so much your personal diplomacy but the fact that the possibility of the military sorting it out personal diplomacy What is the Foreign Ministry s position on that? Will you allow the Defence Ministry to start participating in foreign policy again?
A: Like I said at the outset that personal diplomacy, if employed properly, will render great benefit to the relations among countries, especially countries in Asia. We have coordinated from the very beginning of this government with the military, with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence quite closely on the way in which we will be moving forward and restoring relations - well, some aspects of the relations with our neighbouring countries. If the relationship between military personnel could help move the discussion forward into the direction that we would like to see, into the direction of the formal framework that has already established, that is something that we would support. But personal relationships that move the discussions into something that is outside the formal framework agreed upon will not be encouraged.
Q: View on relations with Myanmar
A: As I said before, the relationship with neighbouring countries has to be good. We have to build trust and I think so far we have received cordial messages from leaders in Myanmar and we have sent also cordial and amicable messages to leaders in Myanmar. I think the attitude of the leaders in Myanmar and in Thailand have shifted in favour of building trust and confidence with one another which will open the way for further cooperation in areas of mutual concern. One area that has been a top priority for Thailand is the eradication of drugs.
Q: Could you explain what you mean by a foreign policy guided by Asian values? Does it mean that Thailand will be less activist or interventionist in helping solve problems in the region such as the Trioka situation in Cambodia?
A: Well, I said before that Thailand stands ready to work with neighbouring countries in solving problems of mutual concern. But when I talked about the Asian way, what I meant is that Asian people have a special personality and characteristic, for example, Asian people do not like confrontation. We are not ever serious society. We have pedestrians who may slip into the drainage system, but they are not going to court and suing the Bangkok Municipality, unlike my lawyer friends in New York or Washington who are making a fortune suing the Municipality. The Asian people, as we all know, consider face saving as something very important. Face saving is one of the special traits of Asian people. You can disagree, on many issues and you can agree to disagree but you are not supposed to embark into situations where you do not save your friend's face. So these are the characteristics of Asian people and there are many more, but I am not supposed to give a lecture on Asian cultures in this room. These are the characteristics that I think we have to take into account when we talk to Asian friends. I am not talking about foreign policy, but more in terms of how to approach people, and you can find a lot of literature on this. There are lots of books written about how to approach the Japanese people, how to approach the Thais, books for Westerners, to read on communicating with Thais and you also have books on how to communicate with the Americans, the Europeans, the continental Europeans and the British for the Asian readers. I think that s a normal part of diplomacy but what I have to stress is that several times I was asked whether I should say that or whether I should say this or why I did this, why I didn t do that. So I just would like to mention to the public that we have to take this special characteristic into account and you have to understand this special characteristic of the Asian people and there are ways in which we can work together to address problems. If it is a domestic problem of a neighbouring country, we should do it in an Asian way. Asian way doesn t mean that you do not respect human rights, Asian way doesn t mean that we do not respect democracy, Asian way doesn t mean that we do not work together for democratisation. In the case of Cambodia where we worked together in the past; we talked a lot about the situation inside Cambodia, not only by Thailand, but also Japan, the United States, Indonesia and even France, but that was not considered as an issue of interference or intervention into domestic affairs . In fact, according to the UN Charter, it is very clear that one should not intervene into the domestic affairs of another country but there s an Asian way that allows you to work together and to help each other solve problems. But before we can get to that stage, we must build enough trust and confidence with one another so that one would be able to go to another person and say that I have this problem and see whether there are other ways to work out the problems. It would also be necessary for the other person to trust you and talk about it.
Q: How would you apply this Asian way argument in solving specifically the case of Aung San Sukyi in Myanmar? ASEAN has used this policy for a long time but has not achieved much success, how do you think it will be possible?
A: I think what is happening right now is a part of the Asian way of doing things and I support this particular development very much indeed. I think Razali has done an excellent job within the normal framework but with the delicate understanding of the people in Myanmar, of the internal situation in Myanmar and also the situation in this region. I think Prime Minister Mahathir has also done a very good job . There are so many details that I m aware of, because I was the Chairman of PTT s exploration and production and have been involved in the negotiations and understand how it started and how it is building into a formal channel. In fact, that is a very good example also of the Asian way and we support that development towards, hopefully, national reconciliation in Myanmar.
กองการสื่อมวลชน กรมสารนิเทศ กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ โทร. 643-5105 โทรสาร. 643-5106-7Press Division, Department of Information Tel. 643-5105 Fax. 643-5106-7 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th-- จบ--
-อน*