Thailand Takes Center Stage in ASEAN Economic Platform

Thailand Takes Center Stage in ASEAN Economic Platform

(Partnership with Japan, Stronger Currency & Burmese Refugee Aid Cited)

Thailand seems to be at the center of a rising and pro-democracy and economic regional movement in SE Asia According to AP News in Bangkok The convergence of economic forces continue to focus on Thailand with Japan announcing today that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday agreed to strengthen economic and security ties with Thailand during a visit to Southeast Asia aimed at reinforcing alliances amid tensions over China’s growing assertiveness.

 

 

He said the two countries will also reinforce relations between Japan and the 10-nation bloc Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.  South East Asia is gaining in importance as Japanese investors seek to balance risks from their investments in China, where anti-Japanese riots sparked by tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea have hammered exports and prompted boycotts of some Japanese products.

Thailand is Abe’s second stop in the three-country Southeast Asian tour, which began in Vietnam and ends in Indonesia on Saturday. Japan is Thailand’s biggest trading partner and the three nations are key manufacturing bases and growing markets for Japanese companies. Abe, making his first overseas trip since taking office last month, said on Thursday he and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed to work together to solve bilateral and regional problems, including in East Asia, where “there is a great change in the strategic environment.”

 

In comments to reporters at a joint press conference, the two leaders did not directly mention the South China Sea, where several Southeast Asian countries have territorial disputes with China. Thailand’s first woman prime minster Yingluck said they agreed to cooperate in promoting peace and stability to facilitate economic growth in Asia.“We both agreed that any conflicts in the region should be solved through peaceful means, based on every side’s benefits, including the issue of security over the territorial waters,” Yingluck said. 

In terms of a stronger currency, according to Bangkok daily newspaper "The Nation," Thailand's baht was poised for its biggest weekly advance since December 2011, and government bonds rose, as global funds increased holdings of assets that offer higher yields. The baht retreated after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said on Thursday that exporters will face difficulties if it strengthens further. The 10-year bond yields 3.7%, compared with 1.87% in the United States and 0.75% in Japan.

 

 

 

"Funds are flowing into the whole of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, and Thailand is one of the most attractive places," said Tohru Nishihama, an economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Inc. in Tokyo. "The baht climbed 1.7% from a week ago to 29.78 per dollar as of 8.30am in Bangkok, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, on the humanitarian side of political events, Relief operations by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help Rohingya migrants are set to begin in earnest now that Thai authorities have given the go-ahead, agency spokesperson Vivian Tan said yesterday.

 

The announcement came as officials detained another 60 Rohingyas yesterday. The migrants were found on a boat off Ranong's Muang district that was attempting to dock. The new arrivals bring to 917 the number of Rohingyas who have entered Thailand illegally from Myanmar in recent weeks.

While the government works out operational measures, the UNHCR will start by interviewing the 857 Myanmar-based exiles and take other measures to verify details provided by them. In the meantime, the UNHCR will decide what steps to take and in which areas help is most needed, before finally providing full-scale assistance, Tan said.

The statement called on Thai authorities not to repatriate the Rohingya to Myanmar, while welcoming donations to an account named Assistance Fund for Rohingyas, account number 934-1-48557-6, at the Islamic Bank of Thailand's Hat Yai branch.

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