Thailand and the United States: Two Centuries of Partnership

H.E. Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand

Washington, D.C., September 20, 2004

Chairman Daly,
Mr. Snyder,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to thank Mr. Sean Murphy for his kind introduction. I am grateful to the Asia Society Washington DC Center for inviting me to give this luncheon talk. Since I’ll be leaving for New York for the UN General Assembly this evening, today is the only working day I have in Washington DC, so my schedule here is quite cramped. Nonetheless, because this is the Asia Society, which counts among its members many good friends of Thailand, no matter how tight my schedule might be, I would not miss it for anything. As our two nations and peoples have always enjoyed a special friendship of exceptional warmth and durability, it is a great pleasure to have this opportunity to speak on “Thailand and the United States: Two Centuries of Partnership”.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 1833, 51 years after Bangkok became the new capital of Thailand or Siam at the time, Thailand, under the exemplary leadership, wisdom and farsightedness of King Nang Klao, Rama III, entered into the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States and became the first Asian nation ever to have done so with the United States. We were then, as we are now, proud to be your first and oldest treaty ally in Asia. Today, that treaty stands to testify the long and continuing strong bond in every aspect between our two nations. Today, that treaty stands to be the source of the rich history of cooperation between our two countries. Today, that treaty has withstood the test of time, taking our unique partnership from strength to strength. As the world – and the context for our relationship – undergoes a period of sweeping change, I believe it is an opportune time to examine this partnership in its totality: its strong roots of the past 171 years, where it stands today, and what it can be tomorrow.

Following the conclusion of the 1833 Treaty, the interactions between our two nations have flourished. We benefited from countless Americans who traveled to the Kingdom of Siam and made many valuable contributions, be they American missionaries or advisors to the Siamese Court. Faced with the European colonialism and expansionism of the nineteenth century, King Chulalongkorn made use of many of His Majesty’s American advisors to formulate Thailand’s foreign policy toward the major European powers to keep Siam’s independence.

In the inter-war years, an American gentleman by the name of Dr. Francis B. Sayre, who happened to be President Woodrow Wilson’s son-in-law, came to serve as advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the 1920s. He played a particularly important role in revising Siam’s many unequal treaties previously concluded with the Europeans. So distinguished was his service that the Thai monarch conferred him with the highly prestigious title of Phraya Kalayanamaitree, or the Lord of Great Friendship. Today, a street in Bangkok next to Saranrom Palace, for more than a century the seat of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is named after him, in fond commemoration of this dear American friend of Thailand.

Thailand also had many an occasion to stand with the United States. When Thailand was plunged into the Second World War as the result of the Japanese occupation, the Thai Legation’s Minister in Washington DC refused to carry out instructions to declare war on the United States. Instead, he sought partnership with the US, setting up the Free Thai Movement as a resistance movement against the Japanese incursion. The movement collaborated closely with its counterpart in the United Kingdom, worked with the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to infiltrate into Thailand, and operated an underground resistance with the tacit approval of senior members of the Thai Government. The movement provided invaluable assistance and intelligence to the Allies, and became a big credit to the country when the war was over.

In the post-war years, our relationship continued to strengthen. Given our parallel security interests, it seemed only natural for Thailand and the United States to work together to secure peace and security in the region and beyond. Bangkok became home to the Southeast Asian Treaty Organisation or SEATO, formed in 1954 as a result of the Southeast Asia Collective Defence Treaty or the Manila Pact. In the Cold War years, the United States provided Thailand with much needed military support and assistance against Communist insurgence while Thailand made contribution toward resolving many regional threats and armed conflicts such as in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Although that chapter of history is completely behind us, our cooperation on security remains an important element of our relationship. From the annual Cobra Gold joint military exercise of the past 23 years to the recent designation by President Bush of Thailand as a Major Non-NATO Ally, our two countries share common values and aspirations for peace and security in the region.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As international terrorism became a global threat, as nations united to condemn acts of terrorism in all forms, as innocent people, one after another fell victims of the heinous acts of terror, most recently in Indonesia and Russia, the US-Thai partnership on the security front remains as strong as ever. We join all nations to combat terrorism in all forms. We just cannot afford to be complacent or let down our guards as long as terrorism continues indiscriminately to threaten our peoples and the values we stand for.

Thailand has a strong record in our contribution toward the security of our country and region. We have amended domestic laws and regulations to cope with terrorist activities. We are signatory to five of the United Nations conventions against terrorism. We are committed to becoming party to the remaining seven and hope to be able to do so by the beginning of the new year. Our cooperation in intelligence sharing led to the capture of one of the most wanted terrorists in the region. Recently, our military personnel in various fields have provided humanitarian assistance both in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

The spread of international terrorism has threatened the flow of international trade and economic activities and hindered the process of economic growth and the betterment of our peoples’ living standards.

To make sure that our trade and our economic well-being will not be deterred by terrorism, Thailand has also been working with the United States within the framework of APEC on other related initiatives. First was the Secure Trade in the Asia Pacific Region (the so-called STAR initiative). In this regard, last year, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and myself signed the Declaration of Principles on the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which is designed to protect trade between our seaports by using radiation to scan containers for dangerous cargo. Another bilateral project between us was launched by Secretary Powell and I in Bangkok, called BEST, the Bangkok/Laem Chabang Efficient and Secure Trade (BEST). This entails satellite tracking of containers from Thailand’s port of Laem Chabang to Seattle. Both these systems should enhance confidence in the security of our trade.

To secure the safety of travelers and the tourism industry, last March, during his visit to Thailand, Secretary Ridge and I witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Intent for Provision of a Terrorist Interdiction Program Border Control System. Under this Memorandum, the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System, known in short as PISCES, could be used to screen people passing through Thailand’s ports of entry, so that we may be able to detect suspected terrorists.

Furthermore, we are also working with Australia on the Advanced Passenger Information/Processing: the API/APP) pathfinder initiative, whereby passenger data is pre-screened prior to embarkation. These measures are part and parcel of the STAR initiative in securing trade in the APEC region. Our cooperation also includes efforts to prevent Man-Portable Air Defence Systems, or MANPADs, from being used by terrorists against international aviation.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The United States and Thailand are also working closely together to fight against non-traditional security issues. Such threats as the illicit trade in narcotic drugs, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS are severely undermining the security and well-being of our peoples. Thailand and the United States have been working closely together in these areas. We have made progress, but here again, we cannot afford complacency.

On HIV/AIDS, Thailand has been cited as a successful leader in the fight against this disease. We hosted the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok last July, with almost 30,000 participants from all over the world. The conference concluded on a hopeful note for millions of people living with AIDS in every corner of the world: the hope that they will not be neglected, and that nations like Thailand and the US, which have worked jointly on many HIV/AIDS projects, will pull together to win the battle against this disease.

On August 6, this year, Prime Minister Thaksin of Thailand declared our total war and national campaign against all forms of human trafficking. He condemned human trafficking in legal terminology, not only as malum prohibitum, but also as malum in se. In other words, it is wrong not only because it is unlawful but because it is evil in itself. He pledged to tighten up every part of the machinery of the government to win this battle as we have done so successfully in our total war against drugs.

Last Thursday, in the Annual Presidential Determinations of Major Illicit Drug Producing and Drug-Transit Countries, the US President removed Thailand from the list of major drug-transit or major illicit drug-producing countries. This is the first time in many years that any country has been removed from such a list. In President Bush’s annual report to Congress last Thursday, it is indicated that Thailand’s opium poppy cultivation is well below the levels specified in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. No heroin processing laboratories have been found in Thailand for several years. Thailand is no longer a significant direct source of illicit narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances significantly affecting the United States. Nor is it a country through which such drugs or substances are transported.

Clearly, the total war against drugs by the present Thai Government, declared just less than 3 years ago with resolute determination to win, has been a triumph. We are gratified that our efforts have been recognized. But Thailand is also continuing the fight against drugs because the battle may have been won, but the war may not be over. It is a war that continues and that will need the support and cooperation of friends such as the United States, particularly in controlling the trade on precursor chemicals for methamphetamines.

And now with no less determination, we will march on to win the battle against human trafficking and on September 30, the Thai Prime Minister will launch another national campaign of no less importance: our war against corruption.

On these accounts, we look to our friends, especially the United States for support and cooperation. Indeed, we have established the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok to train law enforcement officers from Thailand and other countries in the region to enhance national efforts and co-operative endeavours against drug trafficking and other transnational crimes in Southeast Asia. But we look further for greater partnership with you.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thailand’s commitment to global peace and stability is unceasing and unbounded. As our partnerships in the above areas reflect, the Kingdom is playing an increasing active role in the region and beyond. The reason for this is clear and simple. A more secure and stable Asia in general and Southeast Asia in particular will make us stronger and more reliable partners with the rest of the world, including the United States.

Thailand’s strategic location is well recognized. We are at the crossroads between China and India, the two countries expected to become economic superpowers in the next half century. We are also engaging them in innovative cooperation frameworks that should support their development as responsible global powers and stabilizing influences in the region. The Asian Century we foresee will not be in competition with Pax Americana, but will complement it by working for peace, prosperity and stability in Asia, because a stable Asia makes for a more stable world.

This is the reasoning behind the Asia Cooperation Dialogue or ACD, the first ever Asia-wide cooperation forum developed at the initiative of the Thai government. The ACD has so far defied skeptics who argue that Asia is too diverse to unite. Because Asia is different from other regions, it must find its own model of cooperation to transform diversity from a force that keeps us apart into one that keeps us together. The ACD model is open, evolving, non-institutionalised, and inclusive, with an emphasis on members’ comfort level and voluntarism. So far, the ACD has 25 Asian country members and 18 areas of functional cooperation.

Thailand has been engaging with South Asia in similar fashion. Less than 2 months ago, Thailand hosted the first ever Summit of a grouping called BIMSTEC, which comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. BIMSTEC is in negotiations for an FTA and covers a broad range of cooperation, including trade and investment, transport and communications, tourism, energy, and human resource development. This cooperation nicely complements the Thai-US partnership, as the BIMSTEC FTA will expand the market for US goods and services tremendously.

Security in Asia, as the US knows well, also depends to a considerable extent on reducing the gaps in development between the developing and least developed countries. Thailand has made use of its development and strategic location to play a key role in helping the development of our neighbors. The US has recognized Bangkok’s significance as a regional hub, which makes us an ideal partner for US efforts in the region. Already, the US Trade and Development Agency (TDA) opened an office in Bangkok a couple of years ago following a meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin. Earlier this year, Ambassador Darryl Johnson and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which led to the return of USAID to Bangkok as a regional office.

Toward the same end, Thailand also initiated the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy, or ACMECS. This group, which bears the names of the three major rivers passing our sub-region, has quickly gained momentum among the members, namely Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and most recently, Vietnam. The five areas of cooperation covered are agriculture and industry, trade and investment, tourism, transport linkages, and human resource development. We see ACMECS as a necessary building block for the sustainable growth of the sub-region and for the aspiration of ASEAN to build three pillars: an ASEAN Economic Community, ASEAN Security Community and ASEAN Socio-cultural Community. Several developed countries such as France, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, and including international organizations as the ADB have agreed to become partners in several of the ACMECS development projects. For France, for example, several of the projects dovetail with its Plan d’Action for the subregion. I hope the United States can work with Thailand to add value to this important strategic development cooperation.

Perhaps we may even expand our partnership beyond Southeast Asia to other regions of possible mutual strategic interest, such as Africa. Thailand is working in partnership with such UN agencies as the UNDP in extending technical cooperation to African countries as Madagascar, Mozambique and Mauritius. The US and Thailand as partners can contribute to Africa for our mutual strategic interests. To foster global peace and prosperity, it is our responsibility to work together to help the poorest and neediest.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thailand has been active in launching these initiatives because we see in them the potential to make the region strong, secure and prosperous for the benefit of all. We see in them the building blocks to make the sub-regions of Asia stronger and make Asia, as a continent, a better partner for the United States, for Europe, for the American and African continents; indeed for the world. We see in Asia, as many see us, a continent rich with diversity, culturally, socially and economically. But unlike many, we see in Asia a great potential to turn diversity into strength and build Asia into a continent of unity, something history never gave it a chance to do.

We genuinely believe that all the initiatives for partnership and cooperation at the subregional, inter-subregional, and regional levels will complement other existing inter-regional cooperation such as APEC for the benefit not only of Asia but also the United States and the world at large. We invite the US, our friend and ally of almost two centuries, to consider how we can work together to make a stronger Asia for a better world. Indeed, this would benefit not only Asia. We believe that the US-Thai partnership formed on this basis could help both of us to reach out to more partners in more regions than we could if we worked separately, each on our own. We genuinely hope that we will find in our long-standing partnership with the United States new initiatives to make each of our regions a more secure and prosperous place for present and future generations.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The most notable cooperation between our two countries is, of course, the ongoing effort to achieve a Free Trade Agreement.

Thailand has concluded FTA talks with countries like Australia, Bahrain, China, and India, and is negotiating with Japan, New Zealand, and Peru, as well as with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). However, one of the most important, if not the most important, FTA we have embarked upon is that with the United States. This is because, in working on the Thai-US FTA, we are building upon an already strong, dynamic and mutually rewarding economic partnership.

Indeed, given the dynamism and complementarities of both countries, the United States is already Thailand’s largest export market and second largest foreign investor. Thailand, on the other hand, ranks as the US’s 19th largest overall trading partner and 23rd largest export market for the US. Our growing economic ties are not just restricted to trade and investment; it also encompasses other areas of co-operation, from tourism to education, and from science and technology to transportation and telecommunications. And in all these areas, we are working together to advance even further the Economic Co-operation Framework between Thailand and the United States that Secretary of State Colin Powell and I signed during my Prime Minister’s visit to Washington in December 2001. Last October, we already made one significant progress by signing, between Secretary Powell and myself, the MOU concerning liberalization of air cargo between our two nations.

It is in the context of this Economic Co-operation Framework and the Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative (EAI) announced by President Bush the following year that Thailand is now negotiating this FTA with the United States. As a comprehensive and state-of-the-art agreement, the FTA promises to cement our economic partnership even further, with both our private sectors and peoples benefiting. Indeed, from the studies undertaken, it is estimated that the FTA will increase Thailand’s exports to the United States by 5.4 per cent and your exports to Thailand by 5.0 per cent.

As with all trade negotiations, however, a win-win situation can be achieved only if both sides are prepared to give as well as take. Many sensitive issues have to be addressed, be it pick-up trucks, sugar or mobility of business people for the United States, or financial services, labor and environment for Thailand. Nevertheless, given the political commitment of both sides and the overall win-win situation that the FTA will bring, I am confident that these and other differences can be bridged to the mutual satisfaction of all concerned. With this new trade agreement, our economic partnership will rise to new heights, creating new opportunities and avenues of co-operation for our businesses and private sectors.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

From the signing of the 1833 US-Siamese Treaty, our partnership, which may have been modest at first, has now expanded to cover practically all fields of co-operation, from political to military, from trade to investment, and from social to cultural—reflecting true dynamism and synergy in our relationship.

The future promises to be even brighter. Through the endeavors that I have outlined earlier, Thailand, together with Asia, will emerge as a stronger partner of the United States. The increased economic integration resulting from these initiatives will create a growing and increasingly lucrative market as well as many investment opportunities. In our common desire to promote sustainable growth in the region and to bridge the economic gap among the countries of the region, opportunities will arise for us to work together, to be innovative and to be constructive in new areas of partnership.

Given that we have been through thick and thin together, shoulder to shoulder, over the last one and three-quarter centuries, I am confident, indeed enthusiastic, about the future of our partnership. I am eager to work with all of you to take our partnership to a higher level. And in less than 30 years from now, our children will look back to today with a sense of pride as they celebrate two centuries of our partnership—one that has always been based upon mutual respect, and the shared interests and values of both countries.

That concludes the prepared portion of my remarks. I would now be delighted to take any questions you may have.