It did not turn out the way the Thais expected. Unlike other friendly countries, the Singaporean government has demonstrated beyond any doubt that it couldn't care less about the political sensitivity of having one of its most senior government leaders receiving Thaksin as a guest, albeit an unofficial one. Both Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram and permanent secretary for Foreign Affairs Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn utterly failed to impress upon the Singaporean government that bilateral relations would be greatly damaged if Thaksin's visit was exploited for political purposes.

Thaksin's comments made during interviews with CNN and the Asian Wall Street Journal were deliberate attempts to discredit the Surayud government and its economic policies. Knowing full well that the CNN interview would be blocked in Thailand, Thaksin decided to grant an interview to an AWSJ journalist so a printed version of his comments would come out yesterday.

It was obvious in the interview that Thaksin sought to target the new government's alleged incompetence and ineffectiveness. This explains why the Thai government decided yesterday to indefinitely suspend bilateral meetings with Singapore, both at senior and ministerial levels, as a means of protest. But it should not have come to this.

As a media outlet, this newspaper has no problem with the airing and publishing of interviews with Thaksin. The criticism that Thaksin made about the Surayud government was rather tame compared to the Thai media's standard remarks. However, diplomatic relations with Singapore should have been managed much better.

Mishandling bilateral ties with Singapore has not been the only blunder committed by the Foreign Ministry recently.

The ministry also failed to communicate to the Chinese government that Thaksin should not be allowed to use Beijing as a base to attack the Thai government when he was travelling back and forth from the Chinese capital to Hong Kong over the past six weeks.

When Thaksin faxed a hand-written letter last month defending himself against allegations levelled against him, it was clear that Beijing was not pleased with his actions. He has turned Beijing against Bangkok. But the Chinese had the good sense to limit damage to an otherwise good relationship. Once Thaksin's diplomatic passport was revoked on December 31 last year, China immediately moved to ensure that the former premier's privileges would be curtailed and that Thaksin would have to leave.

In the months to come, Thaksin can be expected to continue to exploit opportunities in the foreign media to embarrass the Thai government. The Council for National Security and the Surayud government are childish to think that Foreign Ministry officials will do their utmost to prevent further shenanigans by the former PM. These officials are more concerned about their future. Without any clear direction from the government, these officials will continue to drag their feet. After all, only four months ago these same senior officials were seen enthusiastically promoting mega-projects to the international community and hailing Thaksin as the country's great visionary leader. Now, the same people are condemning him. In Thailand, such action does not seem contradictory but the international community does take notice and they now recognise how spineless some members of the diplomatic service are. The government and the CNS will have to learn to toughen up and not be too sensitive to criticism from the deposed leader - or revamp the Foreign Ministry.