Irrawaddy-May 25
A key foreign policy advisor to the leader of Thailand’s liberal Move Forward Party (MFP) has told Thai PBS World that the incoming MFP-led government will no longer be silent on the crisis next door in Myanmar.
Myanmar has been engulfed in bloody conflict since the 2021 coup and brutal crackdown triggered a popular armed resistance against military rule. Diplomatic efforts to end the crisis have stalled and the issue has become a threat to regional stability, especially for neighboring Thailand. Fuadi Pitsuwan, foreign affairs chief for MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, said the incoming government will revive Thai foreign policy to improve its image in ASEAN and alleviate Myanmar’s political crisis. MFP is forming an eight-party coalition after winning the largest number of seats in the country’s May 14 general election.
Harvard-educated Fuadi, who is the son of former Thai foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan, said that Thailand will move away from the current government’s “quiet diplomacy” in dealing with the crisis in Myanmar. The outgoing military-backed Prayut Chan-o-cha administration has been criticized for being too friendly with the junta. “Thailand needs to play a more active role in dealing with problems confronting the region, especially the crisis in Myanmar,” Fuadi said on Tuesday.
He added that under the new government, Thailand will rebalance its foreign policy to restore its reputation in the international arena. Under the Prayut government, Bangkok foreign policy leaned away from western countries and more towards China. Fuadi also insisted Thailand under the MFP-led government would be more active in international efforts to tackle global crises such as environmental degradation. Read more at:
