THAILAND-VIETNAM/PRIME MINISTER Thai PM calls Vietnam strategic partner, and not competitor

Record ID: 149451

  • Title: THAILAND-VIETNAM/PRIME MINISTER Thai PM calls Vietnam strategic partner, and not competitor
  • Date: 23rd July 2015
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (JULY 23, 2015) (AGENCY POOL) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PRAYUTH, DUNG, OFFICIALS SEATED IN MEETING ROOM MORE OF PRAYUTH AND DUNG SEATED DUNG LOOKING ON PRAYUTH LOOKING ON
  • Embargoed: 7th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7BM4J6VL71A3QRVNQQHC2FNY
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Thursday (July 23) brushed aside concerns that Vietnam is eclipsing Thailand as a regional manufacturing base, saying Vietnam is a strategic partner, not a competitor.
    The comments came during a visit to Bangkok by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and at a time when a number of foreign companies are shifting manufacturing operations from Thailand to Vietnam, partly for logistical reasons.
    "Our current relations expanded to all levels and all aspects. Today, we use the word strategic partner, and not competitor," Prayuth told a news conference with Dung, adding that Thailand was Vietnam's biggest trade partner in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
    "We will increase trade value between each other (Thailand and Vietnam) from around $15 billion currently, to $20 billion within five years," Prayuth said.
    Thai officials have expressed concern that Vietnam is attracting more foreign manufacturing investment, an additional worry for a government seeking to spur private investment to quicken slow growth.
    A decade of intermittent political turbulence in Thailand, including outbreaks of violence on the streets, has added to questions about the country's suitability as a regional manufacturing base for some foreign investors.
    Both countries emphasized the need for full and effective implementation of a declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea.
    "(We) urge that dialogue and consultations be intensified to ensure the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct for parties in the South China Sea/East Sea," Dung said.
    China has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea through which $5 trillion in sea-borne trade passes every year.
    Thailand and Vietnam said in a joint press release on Thursday territorial disputes in the South China Sea had affected trust and confidence and "may undermine peace and stability as well as safety and freedom of navigation".
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