No quick fix to US relations
16/04/2015
After six months of diplomatic hiatus, the US government has finally nominated a new ambassador to Thailand.
President Barack Obama's choice for the position is Glyn Davies, a seasoned diplomat. He is awaiting the US Senate' s nod for his Bangkok posting, which was vacated byhigh-profile diplomat Kristie Kenney in November last year.
His nomination, which was made on Feb 20, won endorsement from Bangkok late last month.
If anything, the nomination of Mr Davies should help end anxious speculation here that Washington is punishing the junta-led administration for the May 22 coup thatdeposed the democratically-elected government under the Pheu Thai Party.
Many interpreted the delayed appointment as Washington's failure to prove that it is a real friend to Thailand, without realising the delay stemmed largely from internalpolitics in the US.
Such bitter speculation has been fuelled further by the downgrading of Thailand on the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report to Tier 3 last year. Many wrongly believe this is a political decision. While Thailand is struggling to reclaim its Tier 2 position, the TIP downgrade was followed by the suspension of military assistance to the Thai army, as well as the downsizing of the joint Cobra Gold military exercise. All this has forced Thailand to seek a closer alliance with US rivals, namely China and Russia. China, in particular, looks forward to a joint military drill with Thailand.
With his solid profile, Mr Davies, who is now a senior adviser in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US Department of State, seems to be the right choice by the US president, the type of envoy that Mr Obama can trust to carry out his "pivot to Asia" policy. He was former US special representative for North Korea policy from 2012-2014.
There are challenges that Mr Davies will face when he assumes his post — the samechallenges faced by his predecessor Kenny, before she wrapped up her diplomaticassignment in Thailand. All eyes are on how the new envoy will maintain thebalance between his role as the guardian of Western-style democracy and friendship with its long-time Southeast Asian ally. Or how he will demonstrate understanding of the special situation in junta-led Thailand without compromising democraticprinciples.
It remains to be seen how he will avoid the accusations experienced by hispredecessor, who was criticised for not maintaining neutrality in a polarised hostcountry.
It is unrealistic to expect the appointment of the new ambassador to improve strainedThai-US relations overnight. After all, Thailand has other thorny issues to work on. These include Section 112, which goes against the key democratic principles offreedom of speech, Section 44 and ongoing military campaigns against politicaldissent and those viewed by the junta as national security threats.
All these issues have tainted Thailand's image and human rights record in the eyes of the international community.
The Prayut Chan-o-cha administration certainly needs all kinds of support andunderstanding from its friends, the US included, to ensure it can push the country forward on its political roadmap and restore democracy.
The nomination of Mr Davies is just the beginning for both sides to restore mutualtrust and friendship. But we should remember that the US will never fully restorerelations as long as Thailand is under military rule.
ไม่แก้ไขอย่างรวดเร็วกับความสัมพันธ์ของสหรัฐอเมริกา16/04/2015 หลังจากหกเดือนของรอยร้าวทางการทูต รัฐบาลสหรัฐอเมริกาได้ในที่สุดเสนอชื่อแอมบาสเดอร์ใหม่ไทย ประธานาธิบดี Barack Obama วันตำแหน่ง Glyn เดวีส์ โพรสได้ เขากำลังรอเราวุฒิสภา ' s พยักหน้าเขาลงกรุงเทพมหานคร ที่มีโพรไฟล์ byhigh vacated Kristie Kenney ในเดือนพฤศจิกายนปีที่ สรรหาของเขา ซึ่งทำบน 20 feb ชนะสลักหลังจากกรุงเทพปลายเดือน หากมีสิ่งใด สรรหาของนายเดวีส์จะช่วยสิ้นกังวลเก็งกำไรนี่ว่า วอชิงตันจะร็อกโซเวียน จัดการยึดไฟ led สำหรับ thatdeposed ประหาร 22 พฤษภาคมรัฐบาลเลือก democratically ภายใต้พรรคเพื่อไทย หลายคนตีความการนัดหมายล่าช้าเป็นความล้มเหลวของวอชิงตันเพื่อพิสูจน์ว่า เป็นเพื่อนแท้จริงประเทศไทย ไม่ มีเหยื่อความล่าช้าที่ดังมากจาก internalpolitics ในสหรัฐอเมริกา มีการเติมพลังเก็งกำไรเช่นขมโดยนักการของประเทศไทยเราค้าในรายงานบุคคล (แนะนำ) ระดับ 3 ปี ผิดหลายคนเชื่อว่า นี่คือการตัดสินใจทางการเมือง ในขณะที่ประเทศไทยกำลังดิ้นรนเพื่อเพิ่มตำแหน่งระดับ 2 ลดคำแนะนำถูกตาม ด้วยการระงับความช่วยเหลือทางทหารเพื่อกองทัพไทย downsizing ของแบบฝึกหัดทหารร่วมคอบร้าโกลด์ ทั้งหมดนี้ได้บังคับให้ไทยในการแสวงหาพันธมิตรที่ใกล้ชิดกับเราคู่แข่ง ได้แก่จีนและรัสเซีย จีน โดยเฉพาะ มีลงรายละเอียดทางทหารร่วมกับประเทศไทย With his solid profile, Mr Davies, who is now a senior adviser in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US Department of State, seems to be the right choice by the US president, the type of envoy that Mr Obama can trust to carry out his "pivot to Asia" policy. He was former US special representative for North Korea policy from 2012-2014. There are challenges that Mr Davies will face when he assumes his post — the samechallenges faced by his predecessor Kenny, before she wrapped up her diplomaticassignment in Thailand. All eyes are on how the new envoy will maintain thebalance between his role as the guardian of Western-style democracy and friendship with its long-time Southeast Asian ally. Or how he will demonstrate understanding of the special situation in junta-led Thailand without compromising democraticprinciples. It remains to be seen how he will avoid the accusations experienced by hispredecessor, who was criticised for not maintaining neutrality in a polarised hostcountry. It is unrealistic to expect the appointment of the new ambassador to improve strainedThai-US relations overnight. After all, Thailand has other thorny issues to work on. These include Section 112, which goes against the key democratic principles offreedom of speech, Section 44 and ongoing military campaigns against politicaldissent and those viewed by the junta as national security threats. All these issues have tainted Thailand's image and human rights record in the eyes of the international community. The Prayut Chan-o-cha administration certainly needs all kinds of support andunderstanding from its friends, the US included, to ensure it can push the country forward on its political roadmap and restore democracy. The nomination of Mr Davies is just the beginning for both sides to restore mutualtrust and friendship. But we should remember that the US will never fully restorerelations as long as Thailand is under military rule.
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