CNA reposted this
Despite having reported on Thai politics for quite a while, high profile sit-down interviews with government ministers have been a rare occasion for me, because many simply didn't see the value of talking to foreign media like us or didn't understand that typical Thai conditions such as insisting on bringing their own interpreters or demanding to see the exact questions beforehand are absolute no-gos in journalism outside of Thailand. Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow is a notable exception. He's a veteran diplomat who joined the foreign service almost 50 years ago and has gone through several stations incl. ambassadors to several countries. But in the mid-2000s, he was also spokesman of the Foreign Ministry - so he knows how the media works and many of colleagues in the foreign press corps (not me, I was too young back then). So it comes to no surprise that my CNA interview with him has hints of refreshing candidness to almost every answer I threw at him. In this excerpt, we talk about his surprise at the US' involvement in the Thai-Cambodian border conflict and why Bangkok saw the need to still suspend the joint declaration after new landmine incidents. He also tells me why Thailand is hosting an international anti-cybercrime conference this month, and why he's cautiously optimistic about the upcoming elections in neighboring Myanmar. We'll have more from Mr. Sihasak's interview later this month. Special thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand for facilitating the interview on relative short notice and with very few hoops. Many thanks to my team Jiratchaya Chaichumkhun, Siddhar Tungaparhara and Jarupat Karunyaprasit for their work.