NEW DELHI, Feb 26 : Groupings like Quad must work towards ensuring regional equilibrium in the Indo-Pacific and should not become a military bloc directed at any particular country, Thailand’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said on Monday.
In an interactive session at a think-tank, Phuangketkeow said the Quad and AUKUS can serve a “useful” purpose if they provide “deterrence” in the face of ongoing geopolitical competition and the common vision for all such initiatives should be to ensure an inclusive Indo-Pacific.
“We express our hope that Quad will not become a military bloc or not become (a grouping) directed at any particular country seeking to contain or seeking to isolate… We should work towards a common vision of an Indo-Pacific that all of us share,” he said at the Indian Council of World Affairs.
The Quad comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia and it has unveiled a series of initiatives in the last few years with a broad aim to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. China believes the coalition is aimed at containing it.
The AUKUS is a grouping of Australia, Britain and the United States.
Talking about the approach of ASEAN on the Indo-Pacific, Phuangketkeow said the grouping does not have an overarching security architecture and it believes in an open and inclusive multilateral approach focusing on dialogue.
“But then we have Quad which is not inclusive, we have AUKUS which is not inclusive but we have to live with that reality also. India is a member of the Quad. India does not see the Quad the same way the US sees Quad,” he said, complimenting New Delhi’s approach towards the Indo-Pacific.
Phuangketkeow also strongly pitched for having a strategic partnership between India and Thailand.
The Thai deputy foreign minister said the talks for elevating the ties to strategic partnership started 12 years back but there has been no progress on it yet.
Phuangketkeow said India has entered into strategic partnerships with Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and elevated the engagement to comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam.
“We have nothing against that (India’s strategic partnership with other Southeast Asian countries). We also want stronger engagement with India. It is time to go towards a strategic partnership that fits the level of relations between our two countries,” he said.
Phuangketkeow described the current situation in Myanmar as very complicated and called for a larger role by ASEAN in that country.
Myanmar has been witnessing large-scale protest and violence since the military seized power in a coup in February, 2021 overthrowing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
ASEAN has been working on a five-point agenda to address the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, a member of the 10-nation grouping.
However, Phuangketkeow suggested that ASEAN should do more to improve the situation in the troubled nation.
“If we continue to limit ourselves rigidly to this policy of non-interference, we are going to be paralysed on many important issues,” he said.
“We have to be flexible, talking about domestic issues is not about undermining a member country. It can be intended to help a member country out of a difficult situation,” he said.
The Thai vice minister said the ASEAN charter of 2015 refers to the principles and values of democracy, human rights, rule of law, and justice, adding “principles of non-interference must be applied against the other principles” in the charter.
The principle of non-interference cannot be used as a blank cheque to do whatever you want against your people, there has to be accountability and responsibility, he said.
Phuangketkeow said Thailand and India are the countries next door to Myanmar and any developments in Myanmarese territory have a bearing on the two countries.
There is no choice but to find options to implement the five-point consensus to get things started, he said.
The first step is to re-engage Myanmar with ASEAN based on concrete progress, to persuade the government and pave the way for constructive engagement with countries outside the region, he said. (PTI)
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