Thais also need culturespecific knowledge. It is common, for example, for Thais to take Laos for granted and to ignore the need to study Lao language and culture. It is easy to take areas nearby with cultural similarity for granted. The U.S. does this all the time with Canada to the dismay of the Canadians who know so much about the U.S. relative to the gross US ignorance of Canada.
Thus, in terms of preparation for the AEC era, foremost is the critical need to improve the language proficiency of Thais both in English and in the languages of the ASEAN countries. All Thai college students should be developing proficiency in one Western language (normally English but it could be French, German, or another language) and one language of the ASEAN region.