Meetings with Thai Prime Minister Prayut, Foreign Minister Don

At 0:05 a.m. on January 13, I left Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport aboard an ANA jetliner for Bangkok as Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar and chairman of The Nippon Foundation at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai.

Arriving at Suvarnabhumi New Bangkok International Airport at 5:10 a.m., I was greeted by a protocol officer from the Thai Foreign Ministry, despite the early hour. The officer had a photo to recognize me by, but later told me that he was looking for somebody wearing pink socks, which are a favorite of mine. Have my pink socks been now recognized internationally? At any rate, I was more than impressed by how well-prepared the official was for meeting his guest from Japan.

The Thai government wanted to discuss the situation in Myanmar. Thailand shares a border with Myanmar and thousands of civilians have crossed the border into Thailand since the Myanmar military seized power on February 1, 2021. In addition, most of the leaders of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) fighting the military have also fled to and now live in parts of Thailand.

It is not my policy to go into details of my activities on Myanmar, so I leave it to a spokesman for the Thai government to summarize the gist of my discussion with Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Prayut Chan-o-cha. Concerning Myanmar, the prime minister and I “constructively exchanged view on the Myanmar situation, and agreed on the non-violence. Both parties also came to terms to support peaceful resolution for peace and reconciliation” of Myanmar, according to the spokesman.

In passing, the prime minister mentioned that my late father Ryoichi Sasakawa helped Princess Srinagarindra establish the Flying Doctors Foundation, an organization that provided medical services to remote villages by helicopter, in 1973. She was the Princess Mother of King Bhumibol Adulyadejt, who passed away in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne－the longest reign of any monarch at the time of his passing. I was impressed by how well the Thai leader had been briefed.

Prior to my meeting with the prime minister, I met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don. He expressed his views on how to deal with the situation in Myanmar, including his efforts to maintain solidarity among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on this issue.

Following our meeting, the deputy prime minister and I had lunch together－a full-course affair with wine. Having meals together, I believe, are important opportunities to talk openly with one another and bring up sensitive issues in a relaxed atmosphere.

To repeat what I said in a previous blog, I refrain from discussing publicly details of my meetings on Myanmar, preferring to stick to “silent diplomacy” for fear of causing an unintended stir. For this, I offer my sincere apologies.