People’s Party MP Chulapong Yokes said he was disappointed with the vision statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, pointing out that it is something that civil servants have to do anyway, and suggested that they dare to make Thailand stand out on the world stage in the next 3 years.

On September 20, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at the press conference room on the 1st floor of the Parliament Building, Mr. Chulalongkorn Yokes, a party-list MP from the Prachachon Party, gave a press conference on the government’s foreign policy vision. He stated that, as he had listened to and followed the news of the foreign policy vision statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as the first Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, he would like to express his personal opinion on the Minister’s statement because the 10 or so matters announced should be missions rather than visions. Missions are matters that the operational department or civil servants must do anyway. He would like to express his opinion on 4 of the 10 or so matters announced by the Minister:
1. The Minister began his vision statement by saying that Thailand has gained more political and economic acceptance due to the work of the previous government. Therefore, he asked the Minister to prove the first task of whether the international community has become more accepting of Thailand’s politics, which is the result of the nomination of Thailand’s representative to compete for a position in the United Nations Human Rights Council, which will be voted on by member states at the end of October. He has been informed that Thailand is losing hope in this position because of the hard work of the governments of the countries that have sent representatives to compete with Thailand. In addition, the US Department of State is about to issue a new annual report on Thailand’s human rights. He has been informed that the new report on Thailand’s human rights is not better than last year’s because we still have many human rights problems, such as severe corruption in the civil service. In addition, the failure of this government to clearly announce the policy of establishing a human rights corridor along the Thai-Myanmar border, which was initiated during the time of the previous Minister of Foreign Affairs, has resulted in a lack of clarity on Thailand’s human rights policy from an international perspective.

2. The Minister announced the policy of proactive economic diplomacy, which I have heard about the development of areas with Malaysia, but I did not see the Minister mention the development of natural resource areas in the Gulf of Thailand. However, if there will be negotiations with Cambodia on this matter, I hope that the Minister will take into account the benefits of the Thai people as the most important.
3. When the Minister said that the management of the Mekong River and the problem of overflowing water caused flooding on the Thai side, he saw that Thailand still has a river that separates the border with Myanmar, which is the Sai River. The severe flooding in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai Province this year was caused by the overflow of three rivers, the Sai River, and the Ruak River, which converge with the Mekong River. We have no early warning system and no information on whether the water in the part of the Sai River that separates the Thai-Myanmar border, which has its source in Myanmar, will be contaminated with toxic substances from mining in Myanmar. This is because the area to the north of Thailand is under the control of ethnic minorities that do not have Myanmar government troops. Therefore, talking to the Myanmar military government will not be beneficial at all.
4. Joint visas with 3-4 neighboring countries around Thailand. This mission contradicts the free visas for many countries that the Thai government has already announced. Since tourists from more than 10 countries can come to Thailand without a visa, why do they need a visa to enter 3-4 more countries? Another problem is the different standards for issuing visas for each country that we will jointly issue visas with. Some countries require foreign currency, so they may be more relaxed about issuing visas than Thailand, and this will cause more low-quality tourists to flood into Thailand. Another reason is why in the minister’s statement there was no mention of free visas with the European Union or Schengen visas, even though this was something that the previous government had often mentioned and the minister said that he would continue the policies of the previous government.

I myself feel disappointed with the foreign policy vision. However, I would like the minister to have the courage to set a prominent foreign policy vision for Thailand in the next 3 years so that Thailand will have a loud voice on the world stage. If that happens, the various missions that have been announced will be successful.