Thailand urged to enhance maritime security amid escalating geopolitics

Thailand has been advised to bolster its maritime security amid escalating global geopolitics, notably in Asia and the South China Sea, according to Kunihiko Miyake, president of the Foreign Policy Institute Japan. Miyake, a former Japanese diplomat, emphasised the strategic location of Thailand and its crucial role in maintaining regional stability during a recent visit to the Japanese embassy in Thailand.

While discussing the geopolitical shifts affecting Asia and Thailand specifically, Miyake underscored the potential maritime threat given the Gulf of Thailand’s connection to the South China Sea.

“The Gulf of Thailand is considered among Thailand’s sources of wealth and security as it is one of the important areas for transporting goods… to the rest of the world and is much more cost-effective and cheaper than railways.”

Miyake further explained that Japan, being an island nation, is heavily reliant on maritime trade. Unlike Japan, Thailand enjoys a more diverse geography and doesn’t face hostility from its neighbours. However, the South China Sea remains a potential vulnerability in any potential dispute with China.

“They want to control the water areas. They want to destroy the dominant US naval hegemony in this part of the world.”

He also stressed that Thailand should continue to balance its strong ties with the United States, reported Bangkok Post.

“Thailand has been heavily dependent on water, [same] as the Vietnamese but they have different problems with the Chinese. The Philippines are also [in] the same [position]. This is why we need Thailand because Thailand, in my view, is a very precious stone in the ASEAN region. You are a great status quo power, and you want it to remain like this, as a free democratic nation.”

Miyake suggested that Thailand and Japan could strengthen their maritime communications, and Japan could assist Thailand during this period of intense geopolitical change, despite Japan not being a military power.

“The best thing we can do is help like-minded nations provide maritime law enforcement equipment or training or cooperation, including coast guard abilities.”

Miyake further advised Thailand’s intellectuals to embrace broader global perspectives.

“I want Thai intellectuals to have a broader and more globally strategic perspective and then reconsider Thailand’s interests in that context. Not in the context of ASEAN or the Indochina peninsula. That is the way to maximise the national interest of Thailand.”