Barack Obama Thailand Visit Nears
President Barack Obama will be visiting Thailand next week, and is scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on Sunday November 18th. The visit will kick off a tour of Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar, making President Obama the first U.S. president to visit both Cambodia and Myanmar. Thailand has had ties to the U.S. since the 1960s and Obama will be the fifth U.S. president to visit the Kingdom. Travel records show that Lyndon Johnson made visits in both 1966 and 1967, Richard Nixon toured Thailand in 1969, Bill Clinton visited in 1996, and George W. Bush came to Thailand twice during his presidencies, in 2003 and again in 2008.
The primary stated reason for President Obama’s visit to Thailand is to expand trade ties between the U.S. and Thailand. A Thailand government spokesman, Tosaporn Sererak, has told news sources that Thailand will enter into negotiations to join the U.S. led Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement that currently has 11 member nations. Unfortunately, Thailand has since recanted and will instead promote Thai-US trade relations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. Bilateral trade talks between the two countries broke down after the 2006 coup in Thailand and have not resumed since.
Thailand would have been the fifth nation in talks about the TPP agreement that does not have a free trade agreement with the U.S. The other four nations are New Zealand, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. The remaining TPP member countries are the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Chile, Peru and Singapore.
Obama’s aim is to increase bilateral trade agreements with Asia-Pacific countries in an effort to counter the growing economic strength of rival nation China. Thailand and the U.S. once had very closely shared economic and security interests, however, the political turmoil and inconsistency have resulted in diminishing Thailand’s importance in the region. Obama will seek to redress the balance and foster closer economic and cultural cooperation and exchanges.
Other topics of interest will certainly include renewing the weakening Thai-US military alliance. Further highlighting the importance of these ties to the U.S. is the arrival on Thursday of U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who will be working to reinvigorate military cooperation with the U.S. This is the first visit to Thailand by a top U.S. defense official since 2008. Panetta will meet with his Thai counterpart Sukumpol Suwannatat as well as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. It is believed that improved cooperation between the U.S. and Thailand is necessary considering the increasing influence Beijing has over the region.
Thailand will be making symbolic steps by finally joining the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which was initiated in 2003 by then President Bush as a method for stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Following the Bangkok visit, President Obama will travel to Myanmar on November 19th, which could turn out to be the more important stop on this tour. Myanmar has been seen in a new light over the past 2 years by the U.S. as an important strategic ally in the region. The fact that Myanmar has been willing to stand up to China on issues, something Thailand is unwilling to do, only increases the desire of the U.S. to strengthen ties with the once pariah state.
The Thein Sein government has cooperated quite well with U.S. requests over the past several months, and Obama’s visit, the first by any U.S. president, highlights the willingness of Washington to work more closely with Naypyidaw. The only potential thorn is the continuing human rights abuses, especially among the Rohingya Muslim minority in Arakan State.
Following his Myanmar visit, President Obama will conclude his tour with a 1 day stopover in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 20th. Improving relations with Cambodia is another key to the U.S. strategy in the region, as Cambodia has had increasingly closer ties with China over the past 3 decades. Later in the week, U.S. Defense Secretary Panetta will also make a stop in Siem Riep, as will U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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“Unfortunately, Thailand has since recanted” Unfortunate based on what guidelines?
Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, scholars, human rights groups, NGOs and activists globally have all slammed what little details of the TPP have been made public.
If it’s such a good thing why aren’t the details public knowledge?
The truth is extends the life of US patents, prohibits the sale and distribution of generic pharmaceuticals that compete with US pharmaceutical products, extends the life of IP rights, prevents parallel importation of copyrighted products without the copyright owners permission and and forces US copyright legislation on all partners? Where is the “win for all” in any of this?
After having read http://bit.ly/QPNOk1 and http://bit.ly/QPNPEA deciding not hold talks would seem to be in the overall best interest of the Thai people.
So in your opinion it is fine to circumvent copyright protection? I’m sure the Thai businesses would agree with you judging by the huge amount of counterfeit goods available here. Not to mention “copied” ideas and goods such as the newly launched EST cola. I wonder if ThaiBev would be getting away with severing their relationship with Pepsi and releasing their own product, whose taste, marketing, and branding appear to be eerily similar to Pepsi, if Thailand had trade agreements with the U.S.?
I see that there are concerns over the protection of the U.S. entertainment and pharma industries, and while I can’t say I am a huge fan of these two megalithic industries, the fact of the matter is there are no other worthy contenders to the entertainment industry in the U.S. and few contenders to the pharma industry. I understand we all want to root for the underdog, but is it fair to allow restrictive and even predatory practices to continue worldwide? The lack of trade agreements allows for the siphoning off of billions of dollars of revenues from the companies who, whether you agree with their pricing and marketing practices, are fairly entitled to protect their intellectual property and copyrights.
I found it amusing to read about concerns over “infringing upon consumer, labor, and environmental interests.” In many ways, and despite some controversies, the U.S. leads the world in all three of these areas. I also found it amusing to read that “Thailand TPP membership application with the US will severely affect the country’s economic and social stability.” Since when is Thailand a leader in social and economic stability? Perhaps it is better for the U.S. to consider a policy of coup d’etat every decade or so as a means to achieve social and economic stability?
This further statement from the BoT had me scratching my head; “joining the TPP could hamper regulations on capital flows and financial services.” That is until I realized that they are discussing the regulations, not the actual capital flows and financial services themselves. Do they mean that the agreement could force Thailand to finally agree to a free floating currency and abolish the capital restrictions already imposed by the BoT?
At the end of the day, the visit by President Obama was never one to promote free trade with Thailand. It is simply “a courtesy call to mark 180 years of Thai-US relations.” Of much greater interest is the visits to Myanmar and Cambodia IMO.
It is my hope that Aung San Suu Kyi and Yingluck Shinawatra and Obama are helping the woman and children that can be helped most and work together to strengthen our friendships. But I don’t follow politics. Somebody tell me what is really happening and kick me out of this kum-bye-ya dream world. kup kun krup
This Moron’s visit to Thailand and the surrounding countries, is
nothing but a scam to deflect his current negative reputation
for Benghazi and his rigging of the recent voting scam, and other
issues that have not been publicized in Asia, me thinks. What this
trip represents, is to reveal to Asia, the first World, non-elected,
President that “THE NEW WORLD ORDER” plans to unveil using the theme
of George Orwell’s 1949 novel, “1984,” where “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING
YOU,” even in the bedroom. Rest-assured, this Moron is now getting
the world used to the eventual takeover once he commences his second
term. The wheels of destructon have already been greased in his
first term, especially in the United States. Once the United States
falls, the rest of the world will be easier to subdue.
What is your source? About man who you aren’t worthy to shine his shoes.
I am not a particular fan of the Moron that currently resides in the
White House. Both he and George Soros are on a mission to destroy
the United States. He is a Communist/Marxist and his boyfriend,
Soros is a Socialist, and an ex-Nazi collaborator during World War
Two in his native Hungary. I have been following these two traitors
for the past five years and anything and anyone connected to these
two Morons, terminates in a negative result. We Americans should
never forget the Benghazi shootout where our American Ambassadore
and his 3 staff, were killed because the Moron whom resides in the
White House was implicated in another gun-running scam into Syria,
where a rescue attempt would interfere with the Moron’s declaration
that al Qaeda was finshed, therefore, he sacrificed 4 Americans.
Therefore, it is my desire that this closet, un-American Muslim,
pays the full price for his Muslim treachery, if you follow. This
Moron did not receive my vote in 2008, and he surely did not receive
it in 2012. Recently, it has almost proven that this Moron, along
with George Soros, rigged many of the voting machines to reflect
a vote for Romney, was in reality, a vote for the Moron. This Muslim
Moron maintains no scruples as his war on the United States unfolds.
He is indeed, the Anti-Christ.
Nor are you fan of respect for man you couldn’t clean toilets for.
I have to admit that I was completely ignorant to the president’s trip and to the strategy behind it until I read this. I’ve given my mind a break from the news after all of the pre-election and election coverage has finally died down. It definitely seems to make political sense to reach out to Asian countries, but I think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done here at home. There are a lot of people struggling in this country, who I’m sure don’t really care about relations with Thailand and Cambodia. That said, I know relations have to be maintained. I hope it’s a successful trip. Great post, Steve! Thanks for sharing!
When you say this Country, do you mean USA? There are more programs here, the USA, for the non arrogant and lazy, than exist anywhere on God’s green Earth.I Have near fifty years of Asia time and government service for the under privilaged. What are your sources of information and disrespect, please?
I truly didn’t know much about this situation or that the president was visiting Thailand. So thank you for writing and sharing. I do hope that some good comes from this trip and thanks for bringing some awareness to this.
Honestly I believe he should be back in the US dealing with the impending fiscal cliff issue, but 3 days for Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia is very likely time well spent if he gets some of what he wants. I’m not certain he will with Thailand and Cambodia, but Myanmar has been promising over the past few months anyway.