US embassy cable - 05BANGKOK5456

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 005456 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP 
DEFENSE FOR OSD/ISA (POWERS) 
NSC FOR MORROW 
PACOM FOR FPA HUSO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/23/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, MARR, MASS, TH, Strategic Dialogue 
SUBJECT: MFA PROPOSES NOVEMBER 7 AND 8 FOR STRATEGIC 
DIALOGUE 
 
REF: BANGKOK 5366 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ralph L. Boyce.  Reason 1.4 (a and d) 
 
1.  (C)  MFA PermSec Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn told the 
Ambassador on August 24 that the RTG looks forward to our 
upcoming Dialogue to discuss security matters.  Krit 
confirmed that he will head the Thai delegation for the 
Dialogue and that other Ministries, including the military 
and NSC, will be represented.  Krit formally suggested the 
Dialogue be held in Bangkok on November 7 and 8 and asked 
whether Washington could agree to those dates. 
 
2.  (C)  Krit suggested that any joint statement issued after 
the upcoming September 19 bilateral meeting between PM 
Thaksin Shinawatra and the President make mention of 
Thaksin's pledge to set into motion an "Action Plan" to 
strengthen the bilateral relationship and highlight the 
Dialogue as a key part of that Action Plan.  Krit suggested 
that an "Action Plan" could be virtually anything that we 
wanted it to be and suggested that discussion of additional 
ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship would be a good 
topic for the Dialogue. 
 
3.  (C)  MFA DG for American Affairs Nongnuth Phetcharatana 
noted our need to now coordinate an agenda for the Dialogue. 
She indicated that, in addition to the agenda topics 
discussed in reftel, the Thai would like to discuss seeking a 
possible MOA on defense procurement modeled after the recent 
MOA between the United States and Australia.  She also asked 
that we use MFA's North American Affairs Division and the 
Embassy as the conduit for setting the final agenda. 
 
4.  (C)  In an aside with PolOff, Nongnuth suggested that the 
MOA would ideally help Thai private companies bid on U.S. 
defense contracts and serve as a tangible way to demonstrate 
benefits of Thailand's designation as a Major Non Nato Ally 
(MNNA).  Nongnuth also said that, contrary to her suggestions 
outlined in reftel, the RTG may not have any problem with our 
designating the talks a "Strategic Dialogue."  She asked for 
a few days to consult with other parts of her Government to 
arrive at a coordinated position on the name. 
BOYCE