51吃瓜

While British and American officials are coming into conflict with the military, Thailand鈥檚 relationship with the EU has been hit.

With Thailand鈥檚 slow road back to democracy looking like it has no end in sight, the military junta led by former General Prayuth Chan-ocha is looking for ways to divert聽international attention from the country鈥檚 authoritarian turn.

Already under fire from human rights and civil society groups for聽 补肠迟颈惫颈蝉迟蝉,听, and driving its own top human trafficking investigator聽, the 鈥渢ransitional鈥� government has recently seen a spate of international incidents involving several of its most important partners, including both the United States and the European Union (EU).

Since overthrowing Yingluck Shinawatra鈥檚 democratically elected government in May 2014, the Thai junta has seen only mild repercussions from Washington. After the coup, the Obama administration temporarily suspended military aid but ultimately decided to take part in聽聽for fear of driving its longtime ally toward China. The US State Department also added Thailand to its聽聽in 2014 and declined to improve its standing in the聽, but that has entailed little in the way of concrete repercussions. While the US may trying to minimize the impact of the coup on bilateral relations, officials in Thailand seem to be taking the opposite approach.

On December 9, 2015, Thai police announced聽 US Ambassador Glyn Davies for a speech he made at a Foreign Correspondents鈥� Club event in November. Speaking to international journalists present at the event, Davies expressed concern over prison sentences being handed down to civilians tried on聽l猫se majest茅聽charges by military courts. According to the investigation and the complaint that prompted it, to even bring up concerns over freedom of speech may itself be聽l猫se majest茅聽in Thailand鈥檚 tense political climate.

The US ambassador is protected from any official charges by diplomatic immunity, but that has not stopped a harsh reaction from groups who support the military government. Hard-line royalists in Thailand even聽聽outside the US Embassy.

Davies is not the only Western envoy to find himself in hot water for offering even mild criticism of the junta鈥檚 behavior. British Ambassador Mark Kent聽聽from government spokesmen for聽聽that a royalist protest was allowed while student activists were prevented from pursuing corruption allegations linked to the military.

Yingluck Shinawatra 漏 Shutterstock

In early 2015, US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel also sparked聽聽for suggesting the 2014 coup was 鈥減olitically driven.鈥�

Relations With the EU

While British and American officials are coming into conflict with the military government and its supporters, Thailand鈥檚 relations with the EU are also being impacted by political developments. As reported by NewEurope, the junta is now聽聽with the European Parliament over its invitation to former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to address the parliament on Thailand鈥檚 political situation.

The Thai government reacted harshly,聽聽Elmar Brok, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Werner Langen, panel chair for relations with Southeast Asia and ASEAN, for not communicating through the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for not inviting the government to participate as well. The junta even suggested the invitation itself might be fake.

Brok and Langen, for their part, responded by confirming the authenticity of the invitation and their openness to the government鈥檚 participation. When the Thai leadership denied Yingluck鈥攚ho is still awaiting trial鈥攑ermission to travel to Europe, the two chairs declared themselves 鈥�.鈥�

Beyond diplomatic controversy, tensions between the EU and Thailand鈥檚 military rulers could ultimately have serious economic consequences. The European Parliament聽聽the 2014 coup 鈥渋llegal,鈥� and members of the European Parliament like Ryszard Czarnecki have argued for tying the trade relationship to Bangkok鈥檚 respect for human rights.

Those economic ties are of critical importance for Thailand, which sees聽over 听补苍诲听聽in foreign direct investment from Europe. The EU has already聽聽on its vital fishing industry if it doesn鈥檛 act to curtail slave labor and illegal fishing.

As Thailand鈥檚 autocratic interim government drags on, the likelihood of further disputes with the US, Britain and the EU could do serious damage to the country鈥檚 standing with its most important international partners.

Unfortunately, the political calculus that motivated both the coup and the delays in transitioning to civilian rule are likely to persist for the foreseeable future. The struggle between traditional Thai elites (who back Prayuth) and the long-marginalized rural electorate supporting Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra has been at the heart of Thailand鈥檚 political troubles for the past decades.

When the upcoming royal succession takes place, this tension could become more palpable than ever. By taking power and preventing elections聽, the military and its allies aim to prevent the pro-Shinawatra electoral majority from interfering with their monopoly on power and influence. While protests from the Thai public and the international community remain (mostly) muted for now, it is an open question as to how long this seemingly peaceful status quo can last.

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.

Photo Credit:聽 / /听

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