Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Thailand was “interested in dealing with the issues and trying to find solutions”. - ST
SINGAPORE: Bangkok is open to the United States playing a constructive role in peace talks between Thailand and Cambodia, but hopes US President Donald Trump will not favour the Cambodians just because they had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times on Wednesday (Oct 22), visiting Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said if the discussions go well, a joint declaration will be signed at the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur by the Thai and Cambodian prime ministers this weekend. The document is expected to cover the removal of heavy weapons and landmines at the two countries’ shared border, among other things, he said.
On Trump’s role in the Thai-Cambodian peace process, Mr Sihasak said Thailand was “interested in dealing with the issues and trying to find solutions”, and welcomed the US playing “any constructive role”.
Asked if Bangkok was worried that Trump might tilt towards the Cambodians given their Nobel Peace Prize nomination, Sihasak said he hoped that this would not be the case.
“Because I think if President Trump would like to be a man of peace, he would have to work towards real peace, and not just a piece of document. That has been our position,” he said during the interview at the Shangri-La hotel.
The planned joint declaration comes after the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand agreed on July 28 to an unconditional ceasefire, after both countries had their worst clash in over a decade earlier that month over a five-day border dispute that led to at least 43 deaths and some 300,000 people displaced on both sides.
Cambodia, adopting the “flattery diplomacy” approach, formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize in August, after the US leader applied pressure on both sides to come to a truce, using tariffs as a bargaining tool.
Giving an update on talks between the two countries, Sihasak noted that the Thais have had a few rounds of discussions with the Cambodians.
He added that “the most serious discussions we’ve had were in Kuala Lumpur, which were facilitated by Malaysia as (Asean) chair”, and “the US, which wants to see peace, because that’s the goal of President Trump”.
“I want to emphasise that even though we’ve met in this four-party format, it’s basically been a bilateral discussion between Thailand and Cambodia, and we’ve always emphasised that between neighbouring countries, we could resolve any issues bilaterally,” he added.
The longstanding border dispute between the two South-East Asian countries, which previously erupted in 2011, stems from disagreements over the interpretation of colonial-era maps. The most recent round of tensions was sparked by a brief skirmish that resulted in a Cambodian soldier being shot dead on May 28.
Thailand has long favoured direct bilateral negotiations with Cambodia, while Cambodia has chosen to pursue international arbitration via the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Sihasak, a career diplomat who had previously served as president of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, said he hoped to boost Thailand’s presence in global diplomacy, acknowledging that the country’s political instability had hampered its foreign policy.
The 67-year-old has been foreign minister for just over a month, after being appointed by Mr Anutin Charnvirakul, who was elected prime minister by the Thai Parliament on Sept 5.
This came after a Thai court permanently disqualified his predecessor Paetongtarn Shinawatra after she was suspended for ethical misconduct in handling relations with Cambodia.
Sihasak said he had asked his friends in Singapore about Thai foreign policy, and they told him that “Thailand’s foreign policy has been domestically focused and somehow we’ve been MIA, or missing in action, in so much as Asean is concerned”.
But Thailand has traditionally been one of the key players in Asean and was one of the 10-member regional grouping’s founders, he noted. The country has its own brand of diplomacy, he added, which is about helping to build bridges, finding solutions, offering pragmatic ideas, and trying to find common ground.
“I want to see Thailand back on the world stage not because of the aspiration of being on the world stage, but I think (for) recognising the fact that we can make a difference, and we want to make a difference,” he said.
He named Cambodia and Myanmar as among his priorities as foreign minister.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since its military staged a coup against the elected government in February 2021.
Asean drew up a five-point peace plan with the military two months later that called for, among other things, dialogue among all parties, an immediate halt to the violence in the country, and the appointment of an Asean special envoy to facilitate mediation.
Sihasak noted that the crisis in Myanmar is now in its fourth year, and Asean has not been able to do much, with the exception of appointing a special envoy.
Bangkok supports having a more permanent special envoy, instead of one who is rotated with the changing Asean chairmanship each year, he said. The envoy will be someone who has the stature, knows the situation and leaders in Myanmar, and can advise on the appropriate course of action, he added.
He noted that there might be “Myanmar fatigue”, but added that Asean should not give up. He said the grouping should continue to help the country “go down the path of peace and dialogue”.
Another of Sihasak’s priorities as foreign minister is to help boost Thailand’s economic diplomacy, and to help the country find new trade and investment opportunities.
Sihasak, who was in Singapore on a two-day introductory visit from Oct 21 to 22, had a bilateral meeting with his Singapore counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan on Oct 21.
“The ministers reaffirmed the enduring and multifaceted relations between Singapore and Thailand, underpinned by regular high-level visits, close defence cooperation, robust economic links, and strong people-to-people ties,” said Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement.
On Oct 22, the two ministers jointly officiated the opening ceremony of the 15th Singapore-Thailand Civil Service Exchange Programme, which aims to promote camaraderie and enhance cooperation between the civil services of both countries across a wide range of areas.
Sihasak also made a courtesy call on Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong. They “reaffirmed the importance of expanding cooperation in forward-looking areas, especially the digital and green economies, food security, and renewable energy”, said MFA.
The Thai minister described the Singapore-Thailand relationship, which marks its 60th anniversary in 2025, as one in which “we don’t have any problems” and are “constantly trying to find new areas of cooperation”.
There are plans for Prime Minister Anutin to visit Singapore in November, he said.
Anutin, who is from the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, came to power in September after forming a pact with the opposition People’s Party, and promising to call an election within four months.
Is Sihasak concerned that whatever he manages to accomplish as foreign minister in these few months might be discontinued under a new government?
“We have to work hard so we can come back,” he said, adding that the short time in office means “not allowing each day to pass by without doing something”.
“There is a good chance we can come back (to power in the next government) if we do things right.” - The Straits Times/ANN
