By Shawn W Crispin
Asia Times (Hong Kong)
BANGKOK - While President George W Bush heaped praise on Thailand, which he recognized as the United States' oldest ally in Asia, a diplomatic debacle played out behind the scenes.
Bush's farewell address to Asia was made symbolically in Thailand to highlight the 175-year anniversary of US-Thai diplomatic ties while also touting his administration's many self-professed diplomatic successes in the region, including the widespread promotion of liberty, law and democracy.
Left unaddressed were tensions in US-Thai bilateral ties, which have risen sharply in the wake of the September 2006 military coup that ousted democratically elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and sparked accusations among the fallen premier's supporters that Washington has taken sides with the military and its political allies in the country's ongoing political conflict.
On the podium, Bush congratulated Thailand on restoring democracy, but conspicuously refrained from commenting on the country's 16-month period of military rule and the shadow the Thai military still casts over the political scene. Behind the scenes, several key Thaksin allies were not invited to the high-profile event and Thaksin himself was conspicuously absent, traveling outside of the country.
Bush's handlers declined, even after heavy Thai government lobbying, to allow for a question-and-answer session after his address, which inevitably would have led to queries about the US's view of the coup, the military-drafted constitution and the likely US reaction to any future military interventions, which some fear may be in the offing should Thai politics deteriorate into street violence.
Thai government insiders also contended that Bush failed after heavy foreign ministry lobbying to arrange a meeting with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was in residence at his seaside palace in Hua Hin, about 200 kilometers south of Bangkok. Government sources say that's because Hua Hin's airport lacks the runway facilities to accommodate Bush's jet. The 80-year-old and highly respected monarch notably did not opt to travel to Bangkok to greet Bush.
The diplomatic snafus come against perceptions among certain Thaksin supporters that Bush's emissaries in Thailand, despite pro forma US public statements condemning the temporary suspension of democracy, too swiftly and too warmly embraced the military coup-makers, many of whom are known to have close ties to top US officials.
While the US suspended a small amount of military aid to Thailand, it followed through on its annual Cobra Gold joint military exercises, the region's largest, while the Thai military was in power. Peeved Thaksin supporters recall comments Bush made at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Hanoi soon after the 2006 coup, where in comparison he noted that Singapore wasn't exactly democratic but was nonetheless still a good US friend.
Two-track diplomacy
US diplomacy with Thailand has long run on separate civilian and military tracks and has often prioritized strategic interest over other policy goals. From 1947 to 1958, for instance, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was intimately involved in Thai political outcomes and America frequently supported suppression of Thai government opponents when it served Washington's interests. [1]
In the 1960s and 1970s, the US provided assistance to repressive military governments and built the road infrastructure that helped Thai troops battle communist insurgents. Now, nowhere are the conflicted US policies of democracy promotion and strategic positioning more glaringly apparent than in Thailand. The Bush administration's global counter-terrorism campaign, which he highlighted heavily in his farewell speech, recast the cause for US military involvement in Southeast Asia, including in Thailand.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s, Washington justified, and several regional countries welcomed, the US military role in counterbalancing China's communist and perceived expansionist threat. When China later effectively ditched communism for capitalism and diplomatically and economically engaged the region, the US's past raison d'etre for a strong strategic presence diminished.
Keen to counterbalance China's rising regional influence, which many analysts view as coming at the expense of the US, the Bush administration highlighted the risk of global terrorism to Southeast Asia - even in backwater countries like Cambodia, where security analysts say the terror threat is virtually nonexistent - as new justification for building strategic ties.
Thailand has been crucial in that campaign and the US in 2003 upgraded Bangkok to a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, a status that confers special military and financial advantages upon the country. US intelligence agents already positioned in the Thai Supreme Command's so-called JSEC units, according to one government source, were able to refocus their clandestine collaborations.
Thailand also agreed in 2001 to establish a more specific joint Counter-terrorism Intelligence Center (CTIC) in Bangkok, where CIA agents and their Thai spy counterparts continue to gather and share information about regional terror groups. That unit was reportedly responsible for the 2003 sting operation that netted terror suspect Riduan Isamuddin, or Hambali, an alleged high-level al-Qaeda operative who was on the run in central Thailand.
Security over liberty
That arrest, which Bush praised in a 2003 visit to Thailand, was also highly controversial and critics contend represented a violation of Thai sovereignty because the suspect was whisked by the Americans to an undisclosed third country before standing trial in Thailand. The CIA also controversially tapped Thailand to host one of its notorious secret prison sites, to where at least two Pakistani terror suspects were transported and apparently tortured as part of Bush's controversial rendition program.
Thailand has never publicly acknowledged the existence of the secret prison, but US officials did after the Washington Post broke the story. Rights groups have maintained that the US tapped Thailand for the site exactly because Bangkok has not ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Thailand has also passed US-influenced anti-terrorism legislation in 2003, which allows for detention without trial of terror suspects.
These strategic assets have arguably compromised the US's ability and willingness to speak out against the 2006 coup and the military's continued influence over Thai politics. The US's heavy in-country intelligence presence has also bred still-unfounded suspicions among Thaksin supporters that Washington had foreknowledge of the coup, which was orchestrated by several Thai security and military officials with close and long-time ties to Washington.
They include CIA-trained Squadron Leader Prasong Soonsiri and the US-trained General Winai Phattiyakul, former director of the Directorate of Joint Intelligence at the Supreme Command's headquarters where US intelligence officials are allegedly in residence. US security officials and former US ambassador to Thailand Ralph "Skip" Boyce are also known to have generational ties to Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda, who Thaksin's supporters have accused of masterminding the 2006 putsch - charges the elder statesman has consistently denied.
Thaksin has never spoken publicly about the role of the US, but his close associates say he was miffed by Washington's response to the coup. It was no coincidence, they note, that he chose to air from China his critical messages about the military government, while his high-priced lobbying efforts in Washington failed to generate much official sympathy as a deposed democratic leader at the White House or Capitol Hill.
While Thaksin fully cooperated with Bush's terror fight, he simultaneously moved to put Thailand's relations with the US and China on a more equal footing. That included new strategic overtures towards Beijing that allowed each side to observe the other's military exercises and the staging of their first joint naval exercises in 2005, which produced an opening to undermine the US's near monopoly on military-to-military training in Thailand. Thaksin also increased Thailand's arms purchases from China during his tenure.
Bush said in his speech that US diplomacy in Asia had transcended its previous "zero sum" calculations and that a prosperous and secure region required both countries' participation. Whether Thaksin's moves to embrace China influenced the tepid response of the US to the 2006 coup is still a matter of conjecture. But the fact that many in Thaksin's camp believe Bush's government put strategic interests before its commitment to uphold democracy means the US could lose out should Thaksin ever return to power.
Note
1. See Daniel Fineman's A Special Relationship: The United States and Military Government in Thailand, 1947-58, University of Hawaii Press, 1997.
Shawn W Crispin is Asia Times Online's Southeast Asia Editor. He may be reached at swcrispin@atimes.com
Bush's farewell address to Asia was made symbolically in Thailand to highlight the 175-year anniversary of US-Thai diplomatic ties while also touting his administration's many self-professed diplomatic successes in the region, including the widespread promotion of liberty, law and democracy.
Left unaddressed were tensions in US-Thai bilateral ties, which have risen sharply in the wake of the September 2006 military coup that ousted democratically elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and sparked accusations among the fallen premier's supporters that Washington has taken sides with the military and its political allies in the country's ongoing political conflict.
On the podium, Bush congratulated Thailand on restoring democracy, but conspicuously refrained from commenting on the country's 16-month period of military rule and the shadow the Thai military still casts over the political scene. Behind the scenes, several key Thaksin allies were not invited to the high-profile event and Thaksin himself was conspicuously absent, traveling outside of the country.
Bush's handlers declined, even after heavy Thai government lobbying, to allow for a question-and-answer session after his address, which inevitably would have led to queries about the US's view of the coup, the military-drafted constitution and the likely US reaction to any future military interventions, which some fear may be in the offing should Thai politics deteriorate into street violence.
Thai government insiders also contended that Bush failed after heavy foreign ministry lobbying to arrange a meeting with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was in residence at his seaside palace in Hua Hin, about 200 kilometers south of Bangkok. Government sources say that's because Hua Hin's airport lacks the runway facilities to accommodate Bush's jet. The 80-year-old and highly respected monarch notably did not opt to travel to Bangkok to greet Bush.
The diplomatic snafus come against perceptions among certain Thaksin supporters that Bush's emissaries in Thailand, despite pro forma US public statements condemning the temporary suspension of democracy, too swiftly and too warmly embraced the military coup-makers, many of whom are known to have close ties to top US officials.
While the US suspended a small amount of military aid to Thailand, it followed through on its annual Cobra Gold joint military exercises, the region's largest, while the Thai military was in power. Peeved Thaksin supporters recall comments Bush made at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Hanoi soon after the 2006 coup, where in comparison he noted that Singapore wasn't exactly democratic but was nonetheless still a good US friend.
Two-track diplomacy
US diplomacy with Thailand has long run on separate civilian and military tracks and has often prioritized strategic interest over other policy goals. From 1947 to 1958, for instance, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was intimately involved in Thai political outcomes and America frequently supported suppression of Thai government opponents when it served Washington's interests. [1]
In the 1960s and 1970s, the US provided assistance to repressive military governments and built the road infrastructure that helped Thai troops battle communist insurgents. Now, nowhere are the conflicted US policies of democracy promotion and strategic positioning more glaringly apparent than in Thailand. The Bush administration's global counter-terrorism campaign, which he highlighted heavily in his farewell speech, recast the cause for US military involvement in Southeast Asia, including in Thailand.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s, Washington justified, and several regional countries welcomed, the US military role in counterbalancing China's communist and perceived expansionist threat. When China later effectively ditched communism for capitalism and diplomatically and economically engaged the region, the US's past raison d'etre for a strong strategic presence diminished.
Keen to counterbalance China's rising regional influence, which many analysts view as coming at the expense of the US, the Bush administration highlighted the risk of global terrorism to Southeast Asia - even in backwater countries like Cambodia, where security analysts say the terror threat is virtually nonexistent - as new justification for building strategic ties.
Thailand has been crucial in that campaign and the US in 2003 upgraded Bangkok to a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, a status that confers special military and financial advantages upon the country. US intelligence agents already positioned in the Thai Supreme Command's so-called JSEC units, according to one government source, were able to refocus their clandestine collaborations.
Thailand also agreed in 2001 to establish a more specific joint Counter-terrorism Intelligence Center (CTIC) in Bangkok, where CIA agents and their Thai spy counterparts continue to gather and share information about regional terror groups. That unit was reportedly responsible for the 2003 sting operation that netted terror suspect Riduan Isamuddin, or Hambali, an alleged high-level al-Qaeda operative who was on the run in central Thailand.
Security over liberty
That arrest, which Bush praised in a 2003 visit to Thailand, was also highly controversial and critics contend represented a violation of Thai sovereignty because the suspect was whisked by the Americans to an undisclosed third country before standing trial in Thailand. The CIA also controversially tapped Thailand to host one of its notorious secret prison sites, to where at least two Pakistani terror suspects were transported and apparently tortured as part of Bush's controversial rendition program.
Thailand has never publicly acknowledged the existence of the secret prison, but US officials did after the Washington Post broke the story. Rights groups have maintained that the US tapped Thailand for the site exactly because Bangkok has not ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Thailand has also passed US-influenced anti-terrorism legislation in 2003, which allows for detention without trial of terror suspects.
These strategic assets have arguably compromised the US's ability and willingness to speak out against the 2006 coup and the military's continued influence over Thai politics. The US's heavy in-country intelligence presence has also bred still-unfounded suspicions among Thaksin supporters that Washington had foreknowledge of the coup, which was orchestrated by several Thai security and military officials with close and long-time ties to Washington.
They include CIA-trained Squadron Leader Prasong Soonsiri and the US-trained General Winai Phattiyakul, former director of the Directorate of Joint Intelligence at the Supreme Command's headquarters where US intelligence officials are allegedly in residence. US security officials and former US ambassador to Thailand Ralph "Skip" Boyce are also known to have generational ties to Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda, who Thaksin's supporters have accused of masterminding the 2006 putsch - charges the elder statesman has consistently denied.
Thaksin has never spoken publicly about the role of the US, but his close associates say he was miffed by Washington's response to the coup. It was no coincidence, they note, that he chose to air from China his critical messages about the military government, while his high-priced lobbying efforts in Washington failed to generate much official sympathy as a deposed democratic leader at the White House or Capitol Hill.
While Thaksin fully cooperated with Bush's terror fight, he simultaneously moved to put Thailand's relations with the US and China on a more equal footing. That included new strategic overtures towards Beijing that allowed each side to observe the other's military exercises and the staging of their first joint naval exercises in 2005, which produced an opening to undermine the US's near monopoly on military-to-military training in Thailand. Thaksin also increased Thailand's arms purchases from China during his tenure.
Bush said in his speech that US diplomacy in Asia had transcended its previous "zero sum" calculations and that a prosperous and secure region required both countries' participation. Whether Thaksin's moves to embrace China influenced the tepid response of the US to the 2006 coup is still a matter of conjecture. But the fact that many in Thaksin's camp believe Bush's government put strategic interests before its commitment to uphold democracy means the US could lose out should Thaksin ever return to power.
Note
1. See Daniel Fineman's A Special Relationship: The United States and Military Government in Thailand, 1947-58, University of Hawaii Press, 1997.
Shawn W Crispin is Asia Times Online's Southeast Asia Editor. He may be reached at swcrispin@atimes.com
17 comments:
Without the US protection, Thailand will be smashed by Malaysia, Burma, Lao and Cambodia.
Thailand is too arrogant for a long time because the US protects it.
The US knew that Thaksin is a pro-China, and the billion of dollars Thaksin has to do the business are mostly from China (from back door). That's why Bush didn't talk about Thaksin.
KRT shoould summond the US, because the US was a main destroyer of Cambodia, and its puppet the one eye King in Bangkok.
You've got all wrong 10:03am.It was khmer rouge , SIHANOUK and CHINA ,who destroyed Cambodia.KRT should summoned these last two instead.
Hu Zen cannot do anything with the neighbouring Siam encroachment and silently yet handsomely pray that the protesters of PAD in Siam be CRACKED DOWN OR BE VANISHED LIKE THOSE IN CAMBODIA.
However, for the country development, Hu Zen can (should we say) pioneer or initiate and implement enormous tasks in order to develop the country in the speed pace (Whether he very much CARES OR NOT???)
First, Hu Zen can FILTER, CHANGE AND CLEAN the LUCRATIVE YET CORRUPTED ATTITUDES OF HIS GOVERNING SYSTEM. He absolutely can implement this task by enacting such laws as: Anti-Corruption Law and the Laws to strengthen work and process of the governing administration. Rewards should be positive, useful tools to motivate the potential, capable and experienced state public servants and punishment or being prosecuted by court for those who use or violate the authorities or responsibilities to extort money and benefits from any individuals or public (info. media plays a vital role along with probe of neutral, reliable body). Hu Zen Must Pave the Paths and Bring Light to the Governing System of Well-Restricted Corruption, Well-Respected and Abided by Rule of Laws, But Not Laws or Memorandums by Mouths of Sole Powerful Individuals. The laws should be necessarily abided by everyone from the TOP TO BOTTOM (ROLE MODEL FROM THE TOP SETS UP STRONG FUNDAMENTAL AND PAVES WAY FOR LONG-TERM SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS since Hu Zen has the ultimate control of everything in his power) and must be genuinely REINFORCED on the basis of promoting the effectiveness and culture of law implementation (NOT IMPUNITY or right-wrong gauged by the mouths of powerful individuals). To have triumph over this easily-won battle (Hu Zen controls everything; he only has to listen to the noble voice-the voice crying and wishing for JUST development and EQUAL justice governing by the RULE OF LAWS), Hu Zen, in case he wants to see all of these solid-well-built and healthy developments of the country in the eyes of Khmers for generations to come, HAS to SHOW HIS POLITICAL WILL AND WASTES NO SECOND TO PROVE HIS DETERMINATION AND COMMITMENT VISIBLE WORK, GREAT EFFORT AND ACCOMPLISHMENT (NOT sing the same old songs, yet more and more visible, serious rampant corruption and injustice everywhere). START from high-ranking officers (known as too partial and party-policy sideline favoring, which neglect and refuse to accept international working quality and standard. THE TOP HAS TO ROLE MODEL AND MUST NOT TOO-POWER ADDICTED????) TO police and civil servants and so on.
HOWEVER, the leaders MUST NOT held the fate of the country and the people as their hostage of OWN POWER OR FAMILY’S INTEREST. The leaders have to be READY to sacrifice own interest and READY to undergo sufferings and hardships if the leaders are to lead the people and his nation to development and prosperity UNDER the governing of LAW AND JUSTICE FOR ALL??????
May God blesses Khmer and his Nation!!!!!!!!
Tips in Leadership:
-Too long in power can poison a person’s mind; the leaders become power-addicted and because the leaders are fighting NOT FOR SAKE OF GOOD CAUSES OR INTEREST OF THE NATION but his and his family’s power and interest, therefore the leaders will CRUSH AND KILL EVERYONE INTERFERING IN THE PROCESS and with the knowledge yet eyes closed WILL SET NO EFFECTIVE MEANS TO RESTRICT OR CURB THE RAMPANT CORRUPTION AND INJUSTICE as long as they can still stay in power and though the power is from MISERIES, BLOOD AND SOULS OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE!!!!!!
In Truth and Decent Laws We Trust!!!!!!
Hi Thai 10:41AM. You can lie to these khmers but not with the Burmese and Chinese who knew too well the US has protected Thailand for 24 hours for more than 100 years. Sihanouk went to China for help because Thailand wanted nothern provinces from Cambodia, and to do so the US did not recognize Cambodia as a sovereignity. Why the US protected Thailand? Check more you will be frozen.
The US and UK protect Thaialnd, The Soviet protected Hanoi, and China was the last destination Sihanouk went for help before Cambodia will be burned down by the US's puppet, the killer in Bangkok. FYI his queen is too.
Cambodia was so poor and so weak dragging between Youn and Siam who have big nations supported them behind. Well we did what we could. at least ah Siam can't take our land, now we have to deal with ah Youn. For all those years ah Siam and ah Youn are stirring in our community making us blaming each others. Karma will drown youn and siam soon when Thaksin returns to power.
Once a puppet is not easy to get out. Bhumibol's brother refused to serve the US, then they got Bhumibol to kill his brother.
11:06 AM
Tell us more about why the US protected Thailand.
If 11:06am doesn't reply, I can help you a little. Thailand has been a US military launching pad in South East Asia a satellite country for a long and long times ago. Without the US protection Thailand may have been taken by Napoleon army. No one should be surprised to see why PM Thaksin was ousted by the coup backed by Washington. Because PM Thaksin is pro-China. And no body should be surprised to hear the war between Sihanouk and CIA, and why CIA wanted to kill him. Bhumibol's old brother a new and young teen King of Thailand born in Germany was shot, for what reasons?
Some body can't stay still but causing the problems in the region. The US wants to dominate South East Asia, then using Phillippines and Thailand as their bases US military. Phillippines base to attack Japan, Thailand to attack China. Preav Vihear Gate is another scheme to cause trouble to see if US's puppet a one eye King Bhumibol can pull the trigger toward ah peasant one eye Youn's puppet Hun Xen or not.
King Bhumibol's hand is shaky to see China keeps staring at him aiming at ah Hun Xen. Errr... just a game of the US and China wants to kick each other out from South east region.
Do you know why Burma fell to Junta? Because the fight between Thailand and Burma and the US always protected Thailand. Thailand is a main threat to her neighbors and to the Asean Nations.
Thanks, for the explanation.
11;34AM. They always deny that Thailand never been colonized by others but the facts Thailand has been colonized by the west since the day Thailand sacked Angkor Wat helped by the western armies with gun powders.
For more than 170 years, Thailand has been secretely colonized by the west such as the US. I still don't believe King Bhumibol intentionally killed the King, his brother. Based on some who met the young King, King Mahidol, described he was frightned and lonely. It could be some kind of pressure on him, and he was so young had never had enough time to enjoy life. He was shot dead at 20 years old in 1946, the year that French was defeated in Dien Bien Phu. The US then started to replace French and Thailand is the land that the US invested for a long time to keep their armies to conquer S.Asia.
May be Bhumibol was forced or threatned, and as we know King Bhumibol stopped smiling, he never smiled. I think he has a good and clear conscience, and what happened was beyond his ability when his country is under controlled by a powerful nation. I still respect him, regardless his country is Khmers' enemy.
The King is old and not healthy, I wish people stop insulting him, but respecting him, because the King did what he was instructed while he was just a teenager.
We should try to educated ourselves and try to learn to live next to each other in harmony, because this earth planet keeps changing its shape and it may stay billion more years, but we can live about 100 years or so, why do we fight each others?
Compare Thailand to Vietnam, I choose Thailand, because we have the same culture.
11;34AM. They always deny that Thailand never been colonized by others but the facts Thailand has been colonized by the west since the day Thailand sacked Angkor Wat helped by the western armies with gun powders.
For more than 170 years, Thailand has been secretely colonized by the west such as the US. I still don't believe King Bhumibol intentionally killed the King, his brother. Based on some who met the young King, King Mahidol, described he was frightned and lonely. It could be some kind of pressure on him, and he was so young had never had enough time to enjoy life. He was shot dead at 20 years old in 1946, the year that French was defeated in Dien Bien Phu. The US then started to replace French and Thailand is the land that the US invested for a long time to keep their armies to conquer S.Asia.
May be Bhumibol was forced or threatned, and as we know King Bhumibol stopped smiling, he never smiled. I think he has a good and clear conscience, and what happened was beyond his ability when his country is under controlled by a powerful nation. I still respect him, regardless his country is Khmers' enemy.
The King is old and not healthy, I wish people stop insulting him, but respecting him, because the King did what he was instructed while he was just a teenager.
We should try to educate ourselves and try to learn to live next to each other in harmony, because this earth planet keeps changing its shape and it may stay billion more years, but we can live about 100 years or so, why do we fight each others?
Compare Thailand to Vietnam, I choose Thailand, because we have the same culture.
I don't hate the Vietnamese, but I prefer to live with people who have the same traditional like Thais and Khmers
Politics oh politics. Because Thailand has been a channel of US for 175 years, now we know why China sent many of their chinese immigrants to Thailand, and many Sino-Thais are rich and powerful in Thailand. Mr. Thaksin is a sino_thai and he is still has his family and relative in China, because he is the first generation in Thailand.
Who will conquer S. east region? China or the US?
We the small nations should just be nice to both of them. That way we can live until 100 years or so.
History repeats itself. Alexandria, Cesar, ..Napoleon, Britain empire, Hitler, now US and China.
i think the USA should look to cambodia for a partner or ally as much has changed already. cambodia love the USA. god bless cambodia.
2;19 am. USA knows what to do and who to get, that is why the US is still #1 superpower. Thailand is a big country with nearly 70 million people. Are you kidding the US would drop Thailand for Cambodia for just a little than 10 millions?
The US Ambassy in Cambodia is to spy on the communist activities, yes oil too.
The best thing for Cambodia is to make friends with everyone and take advantage building the country, bring more business and more jobs into Cambodia. McDonald, Pizza Hut, Starbuck,... more places to eat more tourists, more jobs for Khmers.
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