US, Thailand agree on promoting peace, cooperation in all areas

BANGKOK, December 17 (TNA) - The United States and Thailand have agreed on promoting regional peace and stability, as well as bilateral cooperation in all dimensions. The agreement was announced at a press conference in Bangkok on Wednesday, after discussions held at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs between a US delegation, led by visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel, and a Thai delegation, led by Thai Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Apichart Chinwanno, under the Fifth US-Thailand Strategic Dialogue. Following is a press release issued after the discussions : As long-time treaty allies, the United States and Thailand reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting peace, security and prosperity in the Asian Pacific region and beyond. The US and Thai delegations also discussed current political developments in Thailand and the country’s commitment to implementing comprehensive reforms and a return to sustainable democracy, while both sides also affirmed the importance of promoting universal human rights and humanitarian cooperation. Looking forward, the two sides welcomed continued robust and candid exchanges on the above mentioned issues and others, as well as a continued exchange of visits in the future. The two sides agreed to hold the Sixth US-Thailand Strategic Dialogue in the United States in 2016. The United States reaffirmed its support for ASEAN centrality in the Asia-Pacific regional architecture, while both sides also discussed ways to enhance their cooperation in regional frameworks, including the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN-US Strategic Partnership, with a view to tackle common challenges and contribute to greater stability and prosperity of the region. Both sides recognized Thailand’s active engagement in LMI and looked forward to enhancing cooperation under the framework in the areas of education, energy, public health, science and technology, innovation and women’s empowerment. The US and Thai delegations underscored the importance of coordinating assistance in the region and of supporting Laos' 2016 ASEAN Chairmanship. The US delegation noted that US President Barack Obama looks forward to hosting leaders from all 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Thailand, at the ASEAN-US Special Summit early next year. Besides, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability, while ensuring maritime security and safety and freedom of navigation, including in and over-flight above the South China Sea. The US and Thai delegations agreed on the need to avoid the militarization of disputed areas in the South China Sea and reaffirmed their support for on-going efforts by ASEAN and China to fully and effectively implement the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and to work toward the expeditious conclusion of the effective Code of Conduct (COC). “On bilateral issues, both sides affirmed their enduring treaty alliance and the strategic importance of their relations, while discussing ways to further strengthen and expand areas of cooperation, including public health workforce development, medical research, creative economy, prevention and suppression of trafficking in persons and forced labor, law enforcement cooperation and training through the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), as well as trade and investment. The two sides reaffirmed the value of US-Thailand defense cooperation and looked forward to continuing to implement the 2012 Joint Vision Statement by strengthening cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, global peacekeeping and military medical research, among other defense engagements. The United States welcomed Thailand’s pledge at President Obama’s September 2015 Peacekeeping Summit to contribute civil development, engineering and medical teams to future UN peacekeeping missions, and looked forward to continuing to work with Thailand as feasible on capacity building and training of peacekeepers from regional countries through Thailand’s Peacekeeping Operation Centre. The two sides also looked forward to resuming their Defense Strategic Talks at the earliest opportunity. The two sides also identified practical ways to expand their comprehensive partnership to benefit their respective countries, the region and beyond, while agreeing to hold the first Joint Commission Meeting under their bilateral Science and Technology Agreement in Thailand in the first half of 2016. Both the United States and Thailand also looked forward to expanding trade and investment ties and agreed to hold the next round of talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) as soon as possible in 2016. The United States recognized Thailand’s leadership in the area of public health and both sides are committed to working together to detect, prevent and respond to infectious disease threats and address public health challenges through both bilateral and multilateral mechanisms. The two delegations acknowledged that a five-year plan is being developed to achieve the targets of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), while also agreeing to explore the possibility of establishing a bilateral public health coordination mechanism. The US and Thai governments recognized the importance of education and people-to-people connectivity in line with President Obama’s priorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and both sides discussed future bilateral cooperation and the co-organization of a regional STEM workshop in 2016. The US and Thai governments pledged their recommitment to the US-Thailand Creative Partnership, launched at the 2010 US-Thailand Strategic Dialogue, which identifies new opportunities for collaborative ingenuity between the two countries. Recognizing Thailand’s efforts and contributions in addressing global challenges, both sides discussed enhanced cooperation on climate change, disease prevention and control, irregular migration and human trafficking, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping and counterterrorism. The two sides welcomed the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit, while discussing current political developments in Thailand and the country’s commitment to implementing comprehensive reforms and a return to sustainable democracy. Besides, the US side stood firm that full normalisation of ties between the two countries will come after Thailand restores a democratic government. (TNA)