Political parties advocate neutrality in international relations

They were speaking at a roundtable discussion with The Nation at Hyde Heritage Thonglor in Bangkok.

Kiat Sittheeamorn, a member of the Democrat Party's economic policy committee, said Thailand should maintain neutrality and pay attention to mutual benefits.

Many countries would be pleased with acting in mutual interest, he said, adding that the US does not want Thailand to side with anyone.

He said Thailand should seek multilateral cooperation rather than bilateral ones to drive the country towards sustainability.

Proactive diplomacy

To do that, the prime minister and foreign minister must work together and boost the country's image, he said, adding that the Foreign Ministry must be proactive in diplomacy, not reactive.

"Thailand must be reliable in order to facilitate negotiations, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership," he said.

Noppadon Pattama, deputy chairman of Pheu Thai Party's strategy committee, said Thailand should implement policies in line with geopolitical dynamics.

He said Thailand still faces various challenges, such as the US-China conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our policies should enable Thailand to maintain neutrality and create maximum benefits for the country," he said.

He believes that Thailand has lost its standing in the global community due to the government’s inability to deal with geopolitics.

“The prime minister and the foreign minister should have the ability to deal with geopolitics, as it is now involved with various factors, such as climate change and technology," he said.

The new government should work as much on foreign affairs as in improving Thai people's quality of life, he said.

Thailand will not be able to compete with other countries if the country's human resources and infrastructure are not strong enough, he warned.

"Foreign policies can bring great benefit to the people," he said.

He urged that the free trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the European Union be completed as soon as possible to boost the country's competitiveness.

He added that Thailand must pay attention to climate change issues in keeping with global trends and mitigate the impact on the people, such as developing a carbon credit trading mechanism, promoting electric vehicles and dealing with crop burning.

Coping with the US-China conflict

Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, adviser to Palang Pracharath Party's policy committee, said the conflict between the US and China is one of many challenges that the next Thai government would have to face.

He added that the conflict brings both opportunity and risk to Thailand.

"This is the first time that the US is facing off with another superpower that is not a European country," he said.

He suggested that the next Thai government remain neutral in the conflict between the US and China, so that Thailand could serve as an intermediary between the two powers.

He suggested three ways to cope with the US-China conflict:

• Deglobalisation: planning production to meet the needs of many countries
• Decoupling: allowing foreign firms affected by the conflict to operate their business in Thailand
• Dedollarisation: seeking trade using currencies other than the dollar

Chart Pattana Kla Party's deputy leader Atavit Suwanpakdee said many manufacturing countries, such as China, India and in Europe, are taking advantage of global trade.

He said Thailand should boost its potential in order to facilitate trade negotiations and escape trade barriers. He added that Thailand cannot rely on other countries to share their technology.

"Thailand faced a 1.3-trillion-baht trade deficit with China last year," he said. "However, Thailand enjoyed a 1.1-trillion-baht trade surplus with the US."

He said Thailand's agriculture should be developed further, focusing on exporting processed products instead of raw materials. He also pointed out that processed products is Thailand's strong point, not technology.

"We must create value for consumers that our durian and rice are superior," he added.

Sirikanya Tansakun, Move Forward Party's deputy leader, said Thailand's economy has not recovered much compared to other countries, due to China's reopening.

She added that Thailand has focused too much on trading with China instead of opening trade with other countries.

"Dealing with geopolitics is similar to playing poker, as we will see opportunities amid the conflict," she said, citing Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat's remark.

Wooing foreign investment

She said Thailand has missed opportunities to increase trade many times. The government always comes up with a new economic stimulus plan once previous plans do not work, she added.

"For instance, the government initiated the plan to promote the bio-circular-green economic model after it failed in its efforts to promote S-curve industries," she said.

She said Thailand must ensure mutual benefits in attracting foreign investment to the country. She also pointed out that the Board of Investment's offer of a tax holiday alone cannot help attract foreign investment.

"We have to be brave in taking risk [to attract foreign investment]," she said, adding that the government should not reward any companies who do not have ambitious plans to expand their business.

Thepparith Senamngern, Thai Sang Thai Party's deputy secretary-general, said Thailand should have a clear stance in the global community.

Echoing Sirikanya, he said Thailand has focused too much on trading with China instead of opening trade with other countries.

"Thailand has lost its global position, as the country did not pay attention to its strong point," he said, adding that Thailand has many strong points.

He advised the new government to work on environmental preservation to prevent risk in trading.

"Carbon taxation has been imposed in many countries," he said, adding that more rules related to this issue would be imposed in the future.

Napat Chuanrumluek, a member of Chart Thai Pattana Party's economic team, said Thailand should not side with the US or China as the country does not have the political heft.

"US President Joe Biden did not invite Thailand to participate in many international events to prevent Thailand from gaining benefits from the trade war," he said.

He said foreign companies are essential to improve people's quality of life as they paid a salary of more than 30,000 baht per person.

However, he claimed that only a few Thai students were able to get jobs in foreign companies due to intensifying competition.

Thai students' skills cannot match that of foreign expats, he said, adding that this limits people’s ability to raise their quality of life.