US: Coming months key for Thailand ties

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US: Coming months key for Thailand ties
by Shaun Tandon
AFP News 2011-06-01

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2011 (AFP) - Thailand's upcoming election will be crucial in shaping its relationship with the United States, which has been uneasy over prolonged strife in its historic ally, a US official said Tuesday.

Thailand votes on July 3 in what is shaping up to be a close fight pitting Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's establishment-backed Democrats against allies of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said that the United States wanted "more consequential engagement" with Thailand and has been "involved deeply" in explaining its expectations for the election period.

"It's a very complex period in Thailand," Campbell said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank.

"We believe that as a treaty ally, that this is a relationship that we need to focus on more and the course of the next several months is likely to be decisive," Campbell said.

The United States has sought political reconciliation in Thailand but has generally taken a quiet approach. Thailand last year summoned the US ambassador after Campbell met in Bangkok with a leader of anti-government protests.

Thailand is considered the oldest Asian ally of the United States. The kingdom then known as Siam famously offered elephants to president Abraham Lincoln as he waged the Civil War.

But at a time when President Barack Obama's administration is trying to put a new emphasis on Southeast Asia, Thailand has been torn by intense political divisions. More than 90 people died in street clashes last year.

The Obama administration has focused its outreach in Southeast Asia on Indonesia, believing that the archipelago's rapid transition to democracy and moderate brand of Islam make it a natural ally of the United States.

Campbell hailed Indonesia's efforts to mediate between Thailand and Cambodia, saying that the clashes between two ASEAN members have been "disconcerting" for the regional bloc.

Violence in April in the region of a disputed temple left 18 dead and prompted 85,000 civilians to flee.

"If you made a list of those countries that were important to the United States... and the United States did not recognize their importance, Indonesia would be at the top of that list," Campbell said.

Besides its role in Asia, Campbell said: "We are finding that the experience in Indonesia over the past seven years speaks extensively and importantly to countries in the Middle East that are struggling."

Campbell also saw growing cooperation with the Philippines -- one of two US treaty allies in Southeast Asia along with Thailand -- since President Benigno Aquino took office a year ago.

"I think we are beginning to see a degree of progress in relations between Washington and Manila. Frankly, it's been difficult to get traction and we're finding that traction as we go forward," he said.

Campbell also saw strong US relations with Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, but he said that cooperation with Hanoi would depend on improvements in human rights.

Several Southeast Asian nations have been seeking closer ties with the United States at a time of tensions with a rising China, which has been seen as taking a more assertive approach on territorial disputes.

Campbell said that despite differences, the United States sought cooperation with China in Southeast Asia.

Separately, Campbell said patience was wearing thin with Myanmar over efforts to move toward democracy, but said the United States would maintain a two-year-old policy of dialogue with the regime.

"It is not enough to say, 'Be patient, give us time.' There has been an enormous amount of time and substantial patience," Campbell said.