The case reveals a relationship that goes beyond military consultations, but also reveals a strong nexus of political and economic interests between the military officials of the two countries.
The fact that all of Thailand’s 150 senators are affiliated with the Thai military further strengthens the suspicion of a nexus of interests between the two countries’ militaries.
The Thai legislature is divided into a 500-member Lower House or House of Representatives and a 150-member Upper House or Senate, almost all of which have strong connections to the Thai military.
Going it alone
The meeting in Rakhine itself disappointed ASEAN, which was chaired by Cambodia at the time. Thailand appears to be going its own way, despite knowing that the Five-Point Consensus for a solution in Myanmar is an agreement that binds all of ASEAN, including the Tatmadaw.
The Thai government maneuver was repeated in March this year and June 19 this week.
On Monday, June 17, Thailand invited the Myanmar junta to attend their proposed peace initiative, without involving other parties in Myanmar as mandated by the Five-Point Consensus.
The meeting went ahead despite most ASEAN members, including Indonesia, objecting and criticizing it.
This initiative is all the more ironic because it was taken when ASEAN was not being chaired by Thailand, but Indonesia.
The Thai government argued that it was in its national interest and security, but by inviting ASEAN foreign ministers, they could not resist the view that the meeting was an ASEAN meeting.
In this perspective, Thailand’s maneuver has gone offside, especially if it did not first inform Indonesia as the Chair of ASEAN.
Other than that, the Myanmar issue is no longer just a domestic issue and even more so a bilateral issue, such as the Malaysia-Indonesia border issue and the like.
Myanmar has become an ASEAN issue, especially since all ASEAN members without exception, including the Myanmar junta and the Thai government, have agreed to step together through the Five-Point Consensus.
