A Visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was interesting and informative. To begin, the Director General, Department of American and South Pacific Affairs, gave our group background information on the history of relationship between the United States and Thailand. The first treaty between the United States and Thailand was made in 1833, and this treaty was the first between the U.S. and any Asian nation. The long legacy between the U.S. and Thailand continues to impact the positive relationship the two countries have today, and it now impacted by the relationship the U.S. has with the ASEAN as a whole, of which Thailand is one member. The Fulbright program in Thailand also has a 60 year legacy of strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

We did have a chance to ask a few questions to the Director; a few of these questions are described below.

What is the biggest challenge in your relationship with the United States?

The General indicated that United States’ stance on intellectual property causes some tension at times, but that Thailand is making progress and committed to protecting these rights. At times, however, Thailand becomes uncomfortable with the United States’ classification system when it comes to assessing countries’ ability to meet property rights requirements, since they believe they are trying, but the U.S. views them as missing the mark in this area.

How do U.S. administration shifts impact your ability to negotiate?

With the last change Presidents, the General has noticed an increase in emphasis towards Asia. He believes that Bush was focused so heavily on the War on Terrorism that little focus was paid on ASEAN countries. The new administration does much more to communicate with ASEAN countries, including multiple visits from Sec. Clinton and a meeting with President Obama in D.C. with ASEAN leaders in 2010. This increase in participation and communication on the part of the U.S. with ASEAN countries is welcomed and viewed as a positive shift.

In terms of learning from the U.S., they have worked with the United States a great deal to learn about the events following Hurricane Katrina, in order to prevent a similar disaster from occurring in Thailand.