Thailand-Singapore Dispute Over Thaksin Flaring Up

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The following appears in THE NATION:

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FLARE-UP RAISES QUESTIONS OVER MILITARY COOPERATION

 

Spat with Singapore Sends a Warning to All Countries on Dealings with Thaksin

 

It was all hugs and kisses last week at the Asean summit in Cebu, in the Philippines, when the 10 Southeast Asian leaders came together to launch the first-ever blueprint for the grouping's charter - deemed crucial for shoring up the bloc's credibility and legal identity.

 

But as they were trying to turn this regional grouping into a rules-based organisation, they were also banking on the notion that their long-standing tradition of non-interference would hold.

 

But that very spirit quickly fell apart just days after the summit. On Tuesday Bangkok accused Singapore of being insensitive to its political situation when the island-state permitted ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra to meet with its deputy prime minister Shunmugam Jayakumar.

 

Thaksin took advantage of his presence in Singapore to give interviews to CNN and The Wall Street Journal. The content of the interviews was critical and quite damaging to the current government and Council for National Security (CNS).

 

Anger flared in Bangkok as critics lashed out at both the island-state and the Foreign Ministry, with the ministry's old guard accused of not giving their all to the CNS.

 

While Asean members have engaged in some bitter disputes in recent years, it was somewhat surprising to see Thailand and Singapore at loggerheads.

 

Though not treaty allies like Thailand and the United States, Thailand and Singapore are deemed long-term strategic partners in terms of investment and regional security.

 

Singaporean ground forces train annually with their Thai counterparts in Kanchanaburi, where they can stretch out as they engage in conventional warfare training - something they cannot do on the island-state, without blowing up a shopping mall.

 

Singapore has become a key component of Cobra Gold, one of the largest multinational military exercises in Asia. Its armed and civil forces was one of the largest in Thailand after the tsunami struck, delivering food and medicine as well as carrying out search-and-rescue operations.

 

In the intelligence sphere, information from Singapore was crucial in tracking down international terrorists such as Hambali and Arifin bin Ali, members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organisation.

 

"Singapore is concerned that Thailand could be used as a staging ground for terrorist attacks against them," said Chulalongkorn University's Associate Professor Panitan Wattanayagon.

 

The island-state also utilises Thai airspace to conduct flight training for its airforce. Its 20-year lease for an airbase in Udon Thani was deemed quite generous. But given the current sentiment, it should not come as a surprise if the terms for the lease - as well as other military-related cooperation - now become bargaining chips.

 

Factoring trade, investment and military cooperation into consideration, one can safely argue that Singapore and Thailand are the closest allies in the region. "It's a relationship with different dimensions," Panitan said. "Singapore is at an advantage when it comes to trade and investment, while Thailand is at advantage in military and security [spheres]," he said.

 

Unfortunately, this cooperation does not translate into the realm of public diplomacy. Many in the country continue to perceive Singapore as coming out ahead.

 

Besides traditional security, Singapore is quite concerned about its vulnerability and its place in the region - and the world for that matter. Singapore is stuck between two big and not very friendly neighbours - Malaysia and Indonesia. Strategically, Thailand serves as a counter-balance for Singapore's relations with the two Muslim countries.

 

It's too early to say how much damage the current stand-off will inflict on the two countries' bilateral ties. The strong retaliation from Bangkok shows how seriously the CNS views the Thaksin factor. The move was also a stern warning to China, Britain, Australia, the US, Indonesia and others over Thailand's sensitivities about any future dealings they may have with the ousted premier, who is accused of massive corruption and heading a highly divisive administration.

 

While Singapore stands to lose greatly on military and security matters, if ties with Thailand continue to deteriorate, one should not forget that a great number of Thai civil servants from various ministries have received training in Singapore, a country known for its accountability and efficiency, but not necessarily for its political freedom.

 

Panitan said he was not sure why Thailand had not used its military links to hit out at Singapore. Perhaps it's an indication of things to come, if the situation does not improve. But once the dust has settled, dealings between the two sides will have to be conducted with greater sensitivity.

 

Singapore does not need to be told that it needs friends like Thailand. Luckily, Thailand is not like Malaysia, where constant bickering is expected over every minor issue. But then again, a mature relationship sometimes needs things to be spelt out in blunt terms - as in the current predicament between Thailand and Singapore.

 

Recent history has shown that the island-state can be unkind and insensitive to its neighbours. This time around, unfortunately, it came just days after the Asean summit.

 

And if these two countries cannot get their act together and are prepared to let a man like Thaksin come between them, then what hope is there for the Cebu declaration?

 

Don Pathan

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And this, from the BANGKOK POST:

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Analysis: Singapore's Insensitive Miscalculation

 

Opinion by Thitinan Pongsudhirak

 

The Singaporean government cannot feign ignorance and provide implicit recognition of Thaksin Shinawatra without serious consequences for bilateral relations between Thailand and the island state.

 

[The writer is Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University]

 

Singapore's recent misstep in unwittingly allowing deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to use the island republic as a staging ground for media interviews on CNN and in the Asian Wall Street Journal that chastised the performance of the caretaker government of General Surayud Chulanont indicates a mind-boggling miscalculation.

 

Having become entangled in Thailand's political drama following the Shinawatra family's scandalous sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's government-linked Temasek Holdings early last year, Singapore's elite should have stayed on the sidelines and waited out the resolution of Thailand's deep-seated and ongoing confrontation and conflict.

 

But Singapore's leaders did not, and have not. They keep shooting themselves in the foot. They never got Thailand right. In view of their latest diplomatic blunder, perhaps they never will.

 

That Singapore's elite has persistently coddled Mr Thaksin prior to, and in the aftermath of, the military coup on Sept 19, 2006, is understandable.

 

Mr Thaksin's ties with Singapore's ruling Lee family run deep. The former premier was one of the first Lee Kuan Yew fellows back in 1994. The Singaporeans annually pick out up-and-coming young politicians from the region and treat them to red-carpet packages on the island in an effort to win over future regional leaders. In Mr Thaksin, the Singapore government picked a winner.

 

In addition, Mr Thaksin's and the Lees' common Hakka Chinese background further deepened their relationship. Like the Lees' one-party dominance of Singapore's democratic system, Mr Thaksin's authoritarian, decisive leadership style, and virtual monopoly in Thai politics during his nearly six-year rule also helped to solidify ties.

 

It was thus somewhat unsurprising that when it bought Shin Corp and allowed Mr Thaksin to cash out for 73.3 billion baht, Temasek was headed by none other than Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's wife, Madam Ho Ching.

 

During Thailand's prolonged political crisis and street protests against Mr Thaksin, the Singaporean government never flinched in the face of adverse Thai criticism of its role and connection to Temasek, as its embassy in Bangkok laid low in a vain attempt to ride out the storm.

 

Even after the Sept 19 coup, Prime Minister Lee stated unequivocally in an October speech to the Asian-European Editors Forum that the Thai putsch was a setback for the country's democracy. PM Lee justified his view of Mr Thaksin's electoral prowess, and completely missed the essence of the Thai crisis revolving around Mr Thaksin's erosion of legitimacy due to a long trail of constitutional violations, corruption, and abuses of power.

 

Unlike Singapore, winning elections in Thailand without accountability and effective checks-and-balances provided by institutions mandated under the constitution and by individuals from the media and NGOs, is not sufficient to retain a democratic mandate.

 

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew followed up on his son's remark with the insistence that the Temasek-Shin Corp transaction was completely above board. Both father and son did what Mr Thaksin would have done by insisting on technical legality with a blind eye to legitimacy considerations and ethical and moral implications.

 

To be sure, the Thaksin visit would likely have transpired smoothly without the CNN and Asian Wall Street Journal interviews, despite Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar's odd unofficial reception of someone who had no official status. Kishore Mahbubani, an erudite diplomat who now heads the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, consequently criticised Mr Thaksin for putting Singapore in a tight spot with his media comments. It was the first public rebuke of Mr Thaksin from a member of the Singapore elite.

 

The Surayud government's measured response by withdrawing an invitation to Singapore's foreign minister to speak at a bilateral civil service exchange programme, and its cancellation of an informal summit meeting between the two countries, are moves in the right direction.

 

With these concrete diplomatic signals, the Singaporean government can no longer feign ignorance and provide implicit recognition of Mr Thaksin without serious consequences for the bilateral relationship.

 

To be fair, the primary responsibility for this debacle lies with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, ultimately, with the Council for National Security and the Surayud government.

 

With Thaksin loyalists still in command, the Foreign Ministry has dragged its feet throughout the post-coup period in going after Mr Thaksin's passport status. Despite vocal calls from the anti-Thaksin coalition, the ministry took more than three months to revoke Mr Thaksin's diplomatic privileges. Rumours and anecdotal evidence of Thai embassy resources being used to facilitate Mr Thaksin's movements in London, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore have been rife.

 

Both the CNS and the Surayud government should clarify Mr Thaksin's status once and for all. This would enable foreign governments around the world to treat Mr Thaksin properly. To its credit, the Chinese government walked a balanced line by letting Mr Thaksin stay in China for weeks but not giving him any high-level recognition.

 

However, other foreign governments should not have to make this calculation on their own. They have the right to know how they should receive Mr Thaksin. The onus is thus on the CNS and the Surayud government. Mr Thaksin's murky status is yet another indication of the weak and indecisive post-coup management.

 

 

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The following appears in THE NATION:

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Row with S'pore Escalates

 

CNS switches from AIS on suspicions of wire-tapping; threatens to revoke licenses

 

The military junta yesterday threatened to exercise its power to revoke the licenses of Singaporean-owned telecom and satellite operators if they were found to be wiretapping communications channels and sending sensitive information back to the city-state.

 

For security reasons, the eight members of the Council for National Security changed their cellular provider from Singaporean-controlled Advanced Info Service to other firms, said junta spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

 

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said Singaporean-owned mobile-phone and satellite operators would lose their licences if they were caught eavesdropping on customers.

 

Junta chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin on Wednesday said all mobile-phone conversations were being picked up and relayed to Singapore, so that the country could spy on Thai security.

 

Yesterday, he said the junta was "concerned about the operation of mobile phones and satellites whose concessions were transferred to a foreign country".

 

Singapore's investment arm, Temasek Holdings, bought Shin Corp - which owns the biggest players in the local mobile-phone and satellite businesses - from the family of deposed Premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

Sonthi raised his concerns amid a diplomatic stand-off with Singapore for allowing Thaksin to meet its deputy prime minister, S Jayakumar, and use the city-state as a launching pad for interviews with international media to cast aspersions against the junta and military-installed government.

 

The ICT Ministry called all telecom and satellite operators, including Shin Satellite, to a meeting and reiterated to them that the junta would cite its 21st Announcement in putting them out of business if they conducted electronic surveillance of signal transmissions, said ministry spokesman Wissanu Meeyu.

 

All the operators insisted to the ministry that they had never condoned such practices, he said.

 

As a group of students staged a protest in front of the Singaporean Embassy, and residents in the northeastern province of Udon Thani urged the Thai military to return second-hand jet fighters, a key junta member rushed to soothe passions before the anti-Singapore sentiment spiralled out of control.

 

General Saprang Kalayanamitr, assistant to the Army chief, refuted a local media report that the military might review an agreement for Singapore's military to use a Thai airbase as its exercise ground.

 

He told reporters the ongoing diplomatic spat would not set back military cooperation between the two countries.

 

Chareon Mookachornphan, a coordinator of the Udon Thani-based People's Assembly, said the retaliation taken by the government against Singapore - suspending a few bilateral meetings - was not enough for the mistake the city-state made in letting its deputy premier speak with Thaksin.

 

In 2005, Singapore donated seven F-19A/B jet fighters - three Alphas and four Bravos - to Thailand during the Thaksin administration in exchange for the right to use the Wing 23 airbase in Udon Thani for 15 years to train its military.

 

More than 100 police were stationed at the Singaporean Embassy for fear the students staging a noisy protest there planned to burn the mission down.

 

One student dismissed the rumour, saying they just wanted to air their anger at Singapore.

 

A group of six Ramkhamhaeng University students gathered in front of the embassy to demand an explanation within three days of why the republic allowed Thaksin to do what he did.

 

They waved signs reading, "This is Thailand. Don't look down on your neighbour," and, "Singapore, get out." Another said, "We know what you think."

 

They said they represented the Thai Students' Network for Democracy and were not being paid to demonstrate.

 

Former Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan called on the government to control nationalistic reactions in dealing with the matter. Otherwise, the situation could turn ugly, like what happened between Singapore and the Philippines when the city-state hanged a Filipina maid.

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And this, also from THE NATION:

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Thai public Supports Actions Against Singapore: Survey

 

The Thai public supported the Surayud government's reaction against Singapore for permitting ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to meet a top senior official and they demand an apology from the island country, an opinion survey has found.

 

Thailand on Tuesday decided to suspend indefinitely all high-level meetings with Singapore, including a ministerial dialogue next month, to protest the island's insensitivity to Thailand's political situation.

 

More than 64 per cent of respondents said they agreed with the Thai government's reaction, while 18 per cent disagreed. The rest had no comment.

 

Almost 56 per cent of those surveyed said Singapore should apologise Thai people for allowing Thaksin to meet Singapore Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar and allowing him to use the island state as a launching pad to attack the Thai government.