Veteran ex-diplomats vague on foreign policy in outreach to voters

As Thailand grapples with challenges in the rapidly changing global geopolitical landscape, major political parties are fielding former career diplomats on the frontlines of the 2026 general election without offering a meaningfully different foreign policy.

Two key rivals, Bhumjaithai and People’s Party, have proposed seasoned diplomats Sihasak Phuaungketkeow and Pisan Manawapat, respectively, to project their foreign policies, but neither party offers anything substantive.

With its slogan “talk and act”, Bhumjaithai’s policy platform mostly focuses on domestic affairs such as 50,000-baht emergency loans, transportation, electric buses to reduce PM 2.5 air pollution, increasing salaries of health volunteers, free drinking water, insurance for the aging population and a debt moratorium for the farm sector.

The People’s Party has spelled out all the details of its policies in four clusters comprising new economic models, a reform agenda for the modern state, policies for democratization and security, and policies for a quality life.

Unlike the conservative Bhumjaithai, the progressive People’s Party has proposed concrete policies for conducting relations with neighboring countries, specifically Cambodia with whom Thailand is locked in a prolonged conflict, and the junta-controlled Myanmar.

The progressive party paints Cambodia and Myanmar as the source of non-traditional security threats, which Thailand needed to tackle with military means rather than through diplomacy.

Underperforming diplomacy

Thai diplomacy has declined since the intervention by the military, which ousted one of the visionary elected civilian governments under Thaksin Shinawatra in the first decade of the 21st century, according to an academic.

Since the 2006 coup, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been primarily oriented toward serving domestic political interests or those of the government in power, Prof Puangthong Pawakaphan of Chulalongkorn University posted in her Facebook.

“Under military rule, it [the ministry] was preoccupied with manufacturing legitimacy for the junta. During periods of elected government, personal lawyers or relatives were appointed as ministers, despite having no knowledge or expertise in foreign affairs,” she said.

Both Sihasak and Pisan have walked a common path in their careers. They began their diplomatic journey at the end of the Cold War, climbing the professional ladder during the era of liberalization and globalization.

They reached the peak of their careers, being designated as ambassadors to superpower countries while Thailand was under a military junta led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha.

All career diplomats were given key positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the junta-ruled period.

Ex-diplomat Don Pramudwinai served as the foreign minister from August 2015 to September 2023. Sihasak was the ambassador to Tokyo and Paris from January 2015 to September 2018, while Pisan was the ambassador to Washington from February 2015 to September 2017.

Under the orders of the junta-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the Thai foreign ministry and its diplomats were obliged to peddle the junta’s narrative to explain situations and political developments after the 2014 coup.

All of them had turned a blind eye to the human rights suppression in the country, having told the international community that military intervention was necessary and Thailand had no political prisoners at all.

Sihasak and Pisan, however, have had different experiences in their foreign service.

Sihasak has administrative experience having served as the ministry’s top official, as permanent secretary from 2011 to 2015, also leading senior ASEAN officials.

He also had a significant role at the United Nations, as chairperson of the UN Human Rights Council from 2010 to 2011.

With an educational background from the London School of Economics, Pisan is keen on economic matters.

He served as head of the Economic Department, deputy permanent secretary of the foreign ministry, and led the negotiating team for the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, a free trade pact which he said had opened the Japanese market for Thai farm products since 2007.

Restoring the foreign ministry's role

Both Sihasak and Pisan share the opinion that Thai diplomacy under the military-backed government over the past decade had underperformed, and that they needed to restore elegance to Thai diplomacy, restoring Thailand’s leadership role in ASEAN.

“Over the next four years, foreign policy will create opportunities for Thailand and for the Thai people, bringing the country back to the forefront of the international community. It will enable Thailand to play a leading role on the global stage, participating with dignity, respect and a sense of national pride,” Sihasak said in a speech outlining his vision and policy of the Bhumjaithai Party in late December.

Pisan pledged in his speech on January 11, pitching his vision, that “Thailand’s foreign affairs will regain its dignity once again.

Thai diplomats must be able to understand and truly feel the needs, emotions and hardships of the people. Thailand once played that role—when we spoke, people listened and admired us; great powers wanted to visit and cooperate with Thailand, and never looked down on us. We will bring that dignity back to Thailand.”

“Thai diplomacy will be grounded in principles, values, human rights and the diplomatic craft that has been cultivated and passed down for centuries,” emphasized Pisan, who was faced criticism for leveraging his diplomatic status to whitewash human rights abuses under the junta’s NCPO.

New world disorder

In their speeches, Sihasak and Pisan viewed the world as entering a state of disorder driven by intensifying competition among major powers the United States, China, Russia and India and other countries in the Pacific region.

“Under these conditions, Thailand must maintain relations with all sides without choosing camps, while using ASEAN mechanisms as a strategic buffer and as a means to build bargaining power in technology and supply chains,” Sihasak said.

Pisan outlined his Thailand first policy, saying his government would not favor any great power.

“We will prioritize Thai interests. Wherever Thai interests lie—at any point in the world—that is where Thai diplomacy will focus,” he said.

Diplomacy as a government tool

Attached to different types of political parties, the two seasoned diplomats set a different tone for relations with Cambodia, which has been involved in an armed conflict with Thailand since the middle of last year.

Under the guidelines of the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, Sihasak said his government under caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charvirakul was in the right direction, mostly relying on military means to handle relations with Cambodia.

“Because Thailand has a strong leadership and there’s unity between the military and the diplomatic corps, we work together and speak with one voice. Thailand stands united in defending and safeguarding its sovereignty and the dignity of the nation,” Sihasak said.

With the progressive People’s Party, Pisan has more liberties to employ diplomacy.

He assured that diplomacy would be a key instrument of a government formed by his party in managing relations with other countries, supporting security agencies in promoting the well-being of the people and ensuring protection from military threats.

“We will work with the international community to combat cybercrime, illicit capital networks and other forms of transnational crime,” Pisan said.

“Economic mechanisms will be used to strengthen trade and investment along all border areas, while education and public health will be leveraged to cultivate lasting friendships and build long-term goodwill toward Thailand among all our neighboring countries,” he added.