Since its inception in 1967, with Thailand as one of the original members, Asean has been a trusted friend of the United States. The range of intersects between Asean and the United States is immense and includes student exchanges, business and trade, and security cooperation.

Asean continues to promote regional peace and harmony. An important part of Asean's future security lies in the development of a regional energy security strategy. Continued collaboration between Asean, the United States and the World Health Organisation on addressing major disease challenges is essential, as well.

The bipartisan Senate resolution is cosponsored by Senators Joe Biden, Barbara Boxer, Lisa Murkowski, Chuck Hagel, Kit Bond, John Kerry, Jim Webb, Daniel Akaka and Dianne Feinstein. It welcomes the upcoming US-Asean Summit, encourages the US and Asean to continue implementing the Asean-US Enhanced Partnership, and urges the United States to appoint a United States ambassador for Asean. More student exchanges - both ways - between Asean and the United States are encouraged.

As the leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am grateful for the historic relations between Thailand and the United States.

Richard G Lugar

United States Senator for Indiana

Washington, DC

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Country will remain unstable until Army is depoliticised

Re: "Sonthi looks to the future", News, March 22. In a mid-year shuffle, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin moved those he deems loyal to him into key military positions to replace those allegedly loyal to ex-premier Thaksin.

That's wise, to prevent a counter-coup, and is standard operating practice for juntas. But what he's done can be quickly undone in a twinkling by the next government, and we'll be back to square one, yet again.

What we need is to de-politicise the military, so that its loyalties are not to an individual person, but to the country, as interpreted by whoever has been legitimately chosen to lead us. The military's culture, and its evaluation and promotion system, should be overhauled to be purely on the basis of merit, with key performance indicators that are job-related, measurable, and transparent. What class a person graduates in has no relevance to the job. Likewise, seniority should be ignored because it is, at best, an indirect indicator of performance - which we're measuring directly already.

If General Sonthi can do the above, then whatever good he'll be able to do will be sustainable through the next government and beyond.

Burin Kantabutra

Bangkok

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Rejecting 'military-forced' referendum the just choice

Re: "What has this constitution got to do with you?" Opinion, March 22.

It is interesting that, so far, there have been very few comments on the constitution drafting process. In 1997 this would have been much different. This somehow confirms that people just don't seem to care about this militarily-forced exercise by some academic and bureaucratic collaborators - for which they will all give themselves amnesty by writing it into their own constitution. The 1997 constitution was heavily promoted as the "people's constitution". Then the military tears it up and hires a number of people to write a new constitution. And then you expect the people to be ecstatic about that? There is only one principled way of dealing with this situation: reject it.

Srithanonchai

Bangkok

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Bus crash highlights dangers of deference to superiors

Re: "Bus accident a preventable horror", Editorial March 22.

In your editorial on the Saraburi bus tragedy the following sentence appears: "The driver, who was supposed to be responsible for passengers' safety, could have refused to drive the vehicle with its malfunctioning brakes."

Reading that, I was reminded of the Thai International Airways fatal crash at Surat Thani a few years ago. In that case, the pilot who was also supposed to be responsible for passenger safety, could have insisted on returning to Bangkok because of the bad weather in Surat Thani.

However, there is in Thailand a mental mindset, a distortion of normal personal relations, called krieng jai. This aberration usually affects folk in subordinate positions like bus drivers, junior doctors, teachers and even pilots. It is especially rampant in the police force and military where people such as generals are treated like gods.

Krieng jai is partly a result of the overwhelming power that is often used unethically by management to sack or demote subordinate staff. The Surat Thani pilot feared for his future if he angered his bosses by aborting that dangerous flight and returning to Bangkok which would have incurred costs and scheduling problems.

It is easy to write that that bus driver could have refused to drive the vehicle with its faulty brakes. Yes, that is correct, but that driver could have been looking for a new job within minutes if his employers were typical of the management at many bus companies.

It would be pleasing if critics were to keep krieng jai in mind when blaming someone for not taking a firm line with their management by insisting on not taking risks.

John Benson

Bangkok

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Ignore US overtures to reverse Thailand's drug patent stand

Re: "US chamber urges talks on drugs", News, March 21.

The story refers to the efforts made by Lt-General Daniel Christman, the US Chamber of Commerce senior vice-president for international affairs, to urge the Thai government to reconsider its policy on drug patents.

The "private sector", that is the multinational corporations, have pretty well commandeered the US Armed Forces to accomplish their goals at this point. Surely the US dictated Iraqi Oil Bill presented to the Iraqi parliament as a fait accompli has removed all doubt, if there ever was any, as to exactly why the US-UK invaded and now occupy Iraq. Now the generals march in the guise of the chamber of commerce and try to offer you a "deal you can't refuse". Refuse it. Roll over this time and you'll be rolling over forever. Stand up for the Thai people. Just say no to the drug companies and their pushers.

John Francis Lee

Chiang Rai

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Govt passing off its duty to protect health of its citizens

Re: "US chamber urges talks on drugs", News, March 21.

I find it hard to believe that the very fundamentals of the law to protect and reward the work, effort and investment that individuals or organisations put into developing life-saving medicines can be overturned so that a country like Thailand can provide cheap or free medicine to its poor.

Governments such as Thailand and the NGOs that support them are very wealthy.

Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, the US government, and the drug companies themselves have generously given billions to provide funds for the fight against diseases that cause suffering and death in the developing world.

By unilaterally seizing these drug patents/licences from Abbott Industries a very dangerous precedent is being set. Many of these large drug companies are now pouring more investment into lifestyle drugs like Viagra as they are not so controversial and not likely to be seized. The NGOs are up in arms about this as well as it means less funding for research and development for medicines that can fight diseases.

Furthermore by taking this action it is basically forcing the multinational drug companies to subsidise the government budgets of countries like Thailand that for the most part can get the funds from their own coffers or donations from well-funded NGOs. It also allows these countries to spend more of their national budgets on things that provide no direct benefit to the people - an aircraft carrier or medicine.

Cape Margo

Bangkok

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BBC, despite its faults, has no equal for ethics and quality

Re: "Don't look to the BBC for broadcasting excellence", Letters, March 20.

I read with disdain the embittered contribution from Rodney Sheaves of Sydney, Australia concerning the standing of the BBC as a broadcaster. He suggests in his letter that expatriate readers are reminiscing inappropriately about the BBC insofar that it might be a role model for Thailand because, he says, it is no longer a bastion of impartiality and integrity.

He suggests that from the 1940s through to the 1970s the BBC was a virtuous organisation promoting free speech and providing valuable information to oppressed masses throughout the world. He says that it has now, "[along with] most of Europe's cultural institutions been hijacked by an anti-American intelligentsia".

The truth is that all fair-minded and educated people accept that there is little that is better than the BBC in the world today. Just because organisations critically observe a regime that feels it is able to project its unchecked power anywhere in the world does not mean those organisations have been hijacked. It is what a "free press" in all forms does; it creates a questioning environment and criticises where it feels it is justified.

Here in Thailand there was much mourning when the BBC decided to cease its Thai-language service and there was an unsuccessful attempt to have them reconsider their decision, strange behaviour indeed for what is supposedly a bankrupt and discredited organisation. Whilst no one would say the BBC is perfect, it is far above any other organisation in the world today that supplies news and information to the depth and the diversity that the BBC does.

Dr John Symons

Bangkok

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