Trump’s Thailand envoy pick to tell Bangkok border conflicts do not help alliance

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Thailand said on July 29 that if confirmed in the post, he would tell Bangkok that conflicts such as Thailand’s recent border skirmish with Cambodia do nothing to help the Thai people or the country’s alliance with Washington.

Mr Sean O’Neill, a career foreign service officer who has served twice before as a diplomat in Thailand, made the comment at his Senate confirmation hearing when asked about five days of clashes between Thailand and Cambodia that killed at least 43 people and displaced more than 300,000.

Thai and Cambodian leaders met in Malaysia on July 28 and agreed to a ceasefire

to halt their deadliest conflict in more than a decade. That agreement came after Mr Trump warned Thai and Cambodian leaders on the weekend that trade negotiations with the US would not progress if fighting continued.

When asked what he would do to ensure that the ceasefire became a long-term peace agreement, Mr O’Neill said: “I think the first thing I would do is to point out to Thailand, which is one of our only treaty allies in Asia, that wars like this, conflicts like this, do nothing to help their people.

“They do nothing to strengthen our alliance, they do nothing to address the challenges that both of our countries face. They are just a needless waste of life and treasure.”

Mr O’Neill also said Thailand should not lend legitimacy to the military government in its neighbour Myanmar.

He added that the State Department’s position was not to encourage Myanmar to hold the “sham” elections that the military was planning for the autumn.

“If confirmed, I would encourage Thailand not to recognise an election that does not include the participation of over 50 per cent of the country, while most of the opposition leaders are in prison,” he said. REUTERS