Yet, foreign policy must also serve the continuity in Thailand's consistent interface with other countries - be they neighbours, regional partners, major powers or international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

While globalisation and diversification of state and non-state actors have made foreign affairs more complex, the basic tenet of foreign policy has not changed, ie, to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to protect and promote national interests. Promoting goodwill, maintaining friendly international relations and augmenting national prestige in the international community are all in the furtherance of such principles.

Over the past five years, the Thai government has come up with a number of foreign policy initiatives. ACD and ACMECS are new acronyms, as Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and ARF (Asean Regional Forum) were over a decade ago. But like these preceding fora, they have caught international attention and continue to facilitate the progress of regional cooperation.

These initiatives and others - whether they be Thailand's role in hosting the Apec Leaders' Meeting in 2003 and the Asean-China Summit on Sars in 2003, the International Aids Conference in 2004, and the international conferences on bird flu - did certainly not come fragmentarily out of the blue. Rather, they were part of the overall conduct of foreign policy in a continuum of evolving international and regional developments and national interests in such contexts. These include the "Bangkok Process" which was welcomed by countries concerned as well as the United Nations as a constructive effort for democratisation and national reconciliation in Burma.

In hindsight, not all foreign policy initiatives brought desired outcomes to the causes they aimed to support. But whether they contributed at all requires a deeper consideration, in particular, when it comes to continual processes of cultivating friendly relations and cooperation with other countries.

Patching up snapshots of unrelated episodes, each purposely taken out of context, would not produce a complete account measuring a particular government's foreign policy. It would even risk engendering misconception of, and do no justice to, Thailand's diplomacy. This is why the contention in The Nation's two pre-Songkran articles by Messrs Don Pathan and Supalak Ganjanakhundee ["A tale of unrealised global ambitions", Opinion, April 11, and "Thaksin's vanishing act: precious little remains of five years of foreign policy", Opinion, April 12] is somewhat troubling.

Adopting a broader look at ongoing situations would rather provide a dispassionate, more complete assessment. For, despite the so-called setbacks, we still should ask more fundamental questions. Does Thailand have healthy relations with neighbours, major powers and countries in this and other regions? Has the country gained goodwill from other countries? Has her role been recognised regionally and internationally?

Notwithstanding some ups and downs, Thailand is currently enjoying stable and cordial ties with neighbouring countries. The situation along the over 4,800-kilometre long borders has been peaceful. Established mechanisms are in place to resolve any incident which may arise, amicably.

The temporary hiccup with Malaysia resulting from unrest in the southern provinces has been cured. The Thai and Malaysian authorities have been enjoying good relations and cooperation, including the case of the 131 Thai nationals who fled cross border and were detained in Malaysia. As a cooperative gesture, on December 8 the Malaysian authorities handed over one of the 131 Thais who had an arrest warrant from Narathiwat court. An annual bilateral policy-level consultation will also be held in the near future. Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) now understands the actual situation in Thailand's southern provinces, as unrelated to religious differences, and regards the problem as Thailand's domestic affairs.

Turning to the western and eastern borders, armed clashes along the Thai-Burma border have reduced over the past five years to nil, while Thai-Cambodian relations have improved and are now at the level which Prime Minister Hun Sen himself has acknowledged as the "best ever". The relations with Laos are as cordial. The Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation (ACMECS) has proved constructive in fostering goodwill and trust with immediate neighbours as all countries participating on an equal basis to cooperate for mutual prosperity.

Looking beyond our immediate neighbours, Thailand has been recognised for our role in Asean and beyond.

As a responsible member of the international community, Thailand has been contributing, where possible, to international peace and security and cooperation; hence, Thailand's contribution to a number of peacekeeping efforts under the United Nations or those endorsed by it. Perhaps, not enough may be known about how good Thai peacekeeping personnel are at what they do. Thai soldiers and policemen have served in peace operations, not just in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also in Cambodia, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Herzegovina and East Timor, doing their part to fulfil Thailand's shared international responsibility.

The dispatch of Thai personnel to assist humanitarian and reconstruction work in Iraq, for example, was another Thai response to the UN mandate, specifically the UN Security Council resolutions 1483 (2003) and 1151 (2003). They returned after completing a one-year tour. A new batch was not sent because of safety concerns. With a principal stand in avoiding use of force, Thailand's role was recognised and attributable to its status as major US non-Nato ally.

Thailand's role in helping break the impasse in the six-party talks back in 2005, like her role hosting the Sri Lankan peace talks in 2002, also did not go unappreciated. In fact, such appreciation was expressed publicly by both the US and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The good relations maintained over the years with the DPRK enabled Thailand to act as a bridge on that occasion. The visit to the DPRK by Foreign Minister Kantathi Supamongkhon in August 2005 and his subsequent meetings with the US Secretary of State as well as the Republic of Korea's foreign minister helped facilitate the parties concerned to get back to the table. It was unfortunate that the resumed negotiations did not achieve any breakthrough. Nonetheless, this constructive attempt testifies to the positive roles that Thailand can play in the international arena which are recognised by the parties concerned.

More often than not, while the continued serious, sometimes tedious, diplomatic efforts to advance foreign policy interests proceed on course in the background, a single dramatic incident or splendid fanfare offered to foreign guests may spring up has make it to the headlines. In an open society, such episodic events deserve attention, debate and critiques. To patch them together and conclude that all but one of Thailand's foreign policy initiatives of the past five years have become diplomatic setbacks is, however, overly simplistic and an uncalled for slight on Thai foreign policy.

Kitti Wasinondh is the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.

Kitti Wasinondh

Special to The Nation