Some pundits had billed it as a geopolitical showdown of sorts: The leader of the world’s number two economy arriving in Thailand just two days after the visit by the president of a superpower attempting to restamp its presence in Asia.
On one side, there was United States President Barack Obama, seeking to revive his country’s sputtering economy by latching on to the growth of Asia. He had in his toolkit the language of democracy, human rights and fair trading rules, as well as a wide-ranging – though some say onerous – free trade agreement. On November 18, he made Thailand the first stop of his Southeast Asian trip that included historic visits to Myanmar and Cambodia.
In the other corner, there was Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, leader of the world’s top manufacturer and feared for its growing military might. Wen turned up in Bangkok on November 20, fresh from defending his country’s territorial claims in the South China Sea at the recently concluded Asean Summit in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
Obama said it was “not by accident” that he stopped by Thailand first, as it was the US’ “oldest friend in Asia”. Wen, for his part, appealed to centuries-old blood ties linking the trading communities in Thailand and China, calling them “one family”.
But it was clear what the ultimate prize for both sides was: an established ally in Southeast Asia and, for the US, a gateway into the vast untapped resources of Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, all three of which Thailand borders.
Bangkok was only too happy for the limelight, even though the visits by both leaders lasted just 24 hours each. It was careful to show it accorded equal weight to both visits. The announcements that Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej had granted audiences to both men were made on the same night, while the government stressed that security for both visits would be just as tight.
The reality was quite different. Unlike Obama’s visit, Wen’s attracted a noticeably thinner media crowd. Twitter did not buzz with Wen’s sightings in Bangkok as it did with those of Obama. And the most ornate of decorations in the Venetian Gothic-style Thai government house could not hide the fact that while the joint press conference of Obama and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra sizzled with repartees on topics that ranged from democracy and trade to even military strikes, the one helmed by Wen and Yingluck two days later was scripted, stilted and cautious.
Yingluck, known for her disarming and non-confrontational style, broke into bright smiles readily alongside Obama, even though she struggled at one point to understand a question posed in English. Next to Wen, however, she looked more subdued as she read her prepared statement in Thai.
Wen did not take questions. Neither did he make bold forward-looking statements on his country’s ties with Southeast Asia. Then, again, perhaps those were not his to make, as an outgoing leader.
Unlike Obama, who was given a fresh four-year term on November 6, Wen will bow out of politics in four months’ time when a new generation of leaders takes over China’s reins. Perhaps he was also hoping to make a quiet exit, given the recent allegations by New York Times about his family’s “hidden” wealth of US$2.7 billion. Wen alluded to it in a speech he made to the Thai Chinese Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday night. Paraphrasing a Chinese poem, he said “even if we die, we have to die honest and upright”.
His trip had the feel of a muted swansong after spending a decade at China’s helm.
More than a battle of diplomacy between two great powers, the back-to-back Thailand visits of Obama and Wen brought out the stark contrast of two men at different ends of the political runway.
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