Challenge to correct bungled foreign policy

August 3, 2011
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

In the case of Cambodia, Abhisit and his crew lost their common sense in handling relations and balancing pressure from nationalists as ties with Phnom Penh became linked with the Thaksin move.

A major lesson the new government can learn from outgoing Abhisit Vejjajiva and his crew over their foreign-policy and diplomacy mistakes is how to achieve a balance and separate domestic politics from foreign affairs.

Abhisit's government was wrong since day one in office when it mixed political interest with foreign policy and employed all resources to hunt for his enemy, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The search eventually damaged everything around it, including relations with many countries Thaksin had set foot in.

Abhisit spent nearly all of Thailand's international credit accumulated for years by previous governments to persuade many countries to block and ban Thaksin from entering their territories.

To stop his travelling, the Foreign Ministry revoked all of Thaksin's Thai passports. The measure later backfired when Thai authorities could not trace his travel documents as he adopted many other foreign passports in different names. That was the legal loophole and excuse for officials not to cooperate with the government in hunting him, for the simple reason they could not identify the man called Thaksin and locate his residence any more.

Furthermore, the enforcement of a policy to hunt Thaksin was discrimination that really damaged Thailand's international credibility. Abhisit's government employed fierce and tough action and reaction against some countries that welcomed Thaksin, but was very lenient to many where Thaksin stayed or even lived.

Abhisit downgraded relations with Cambodia as soon as it learned that Thaksin had been appointed economic adviser to the Cambodian government and to Prime Minister Hun Sen. The Thai Foreign Ministry under Abhisit, however, did nothing in the case of the United Arab Emirates, Russia and even recently Brunei when it became clear Thaksin lived or appeared in those countries.

In the case of Cambodia, Abhisit and his crew lost their common sense in handling relations and balancing pressure from nationalists as ties with Phnom Penh became linked with the Thaksin move.

Abhisit and the nationalists accused Thaksin and his government associates - under late prime minister Samak Sundaravej - of supporting Cambodia to list the Hindu temple of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site in exchange for business interests based on natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand. The outgoing government, from its day until its last day in office, has been unable to prove the allegation - but the relationship has already been damaged.

Many relations have gone far beyond repair as the two countries faced off in the International Court of Justice over Preah Vihear. If the new government is unable to persuade Cambodia to withdraw the case from the ICJ, the two countries must continue their court fight to the end - and that might end up with the loss of territory where Thailand has claimed its sovereignty. Nobody in the outgoing Cabinet seems ready to take any responsibility should Thailand lose the case.

The new government promises to be on good terms with Thaksin when his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra likely takes the premiership, but Thaksin's case is still far from over. The close relations with Thaksin are an irony and a problem as Abhisit and all Thaksin's enemies will not ease their pressure on the new government to bring him to justice.

The fact that Abhisit and his crew failed over the past years to bring him back will not be a good excuse for the new government to ignore the issue, since Thaksin's enemies will not give up. Their pressure will put the government in a difficult position as it directs its foreign policy towards countries where Thaksin goes and lives.

The new prime minister needs to select the right person to head the Foreign Ministry, a professional with enough ability to balance domestic politics and foreign affairs. Otherwise, the hope of restoring Thailand's credibility and role in the international community will be abortive.