APEC a Success, but What’s in It for Thailand?

BANGKOK, 23 October 2003 — Thailand’s press yesterday hailed the success of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, but along with activist groups questioned whether it had benefited the kingdom.

“Apart from boosting the image of the government and tourism, questions remain following the meeting: Did Thais really receive anything worthwhile from it?” asked the Thai Post. “Thais are waiting for an answer from the government, not about the meeting’s budget or its success but about developing countries — does Thailand really receive any benefits or is it just a slave for developed countries?”

Thailand pulled out all the stops to impress the 21 Pacific Rim leaders attending the meeting, presenting a magical evening procession of royal barges and holding one of the leaders’ retreats in a rarely used throne hall. “The 11th APEC leaders’ summit has ended with success, managing to impress leaders from the beginning until the end,” business daily Krungthep Thurakit said in an editorial.

But the Thai-language paper warned that following up on the meeting’s resolutions would require hard decisions to be made by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s government as it basks in the afterglow of the success.

“We hope that the government will not celebrate its success and forget about the obligations it made during the meeting, to prove that Thaksin is a major leader rather than just being controlled by Bush, as NGOs claim,” the paper said.

The Thai Post also noted that the summit’s success came at a cost, including controversial limits on protests as well as minor inconveniences such as traffic blockades to allow leaders’ motorcades to be whisked across the sprawling city.

There were also concerns about the flurry of bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs) on the sidelines of the meeting.

Non-governmental organizations complained the FTAs would benefit big business rather than ordinary Thais. “(FTAs) would allow these businesses to dominate the market while the public would be forced to pay more for the goods and services,” Suriyasai Katasila from the Campaign for Democracy said in the Nation.

The press also complained about the US granting major non-NATO ally status to war-on-terror partner Thailand during Bush’s visit. “Thailand’s sovereignty has been questioned in the wake of it becoming a non-NATO ally, as the Thai government did not answer people clearly about what Thailand gets from it, apart from Thai forces being strengthened during war-time,” the Krungthep Thurakit daily said.

Countries with such status are granted significant benefits in the areas of foreign aid and defense cooperation.