Effects of Thai politics on Singapore

Though Thailand seems to be a country far away and, culturally, worlds apart from Singapore, the two countries are actually closely linked, since the time of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government. In early 2006, Thaksin sold a Thai telecommunications company to the investment arm of the Singapore government. This ensured very close Singapore-Thai relations during the time of Thaksin's government, but later in 2006, a military coup overthrew Thaksin. The anti-Thaksin sentiment soon extended itself into anti-Singapore feelings. The Thai people believed that by selling a large Thai company to Singapore, Thaksin was turning Thailand into just a part of his family business, and giving Singapore unnecessary power over Thailand. By associating itself with Thaksin, Singapore also had to take a lot of the hate directed against Thaksin. This sentiment even boiled over to the point that Thais protested outside the Singapore embassy in Thailand. In 2010, Thaksin visited Singapore to visit the Deputy Prime Minister, supposedly as a personal visit. This further enraged Thai officials who feared that Thaksin had a political agenda and this visit jeopardised national security.

This probably led to hostility between Singaporeans who visited Thailand, and reduced Thailand as a preferred tourist destination for Singaporeans. The hostility probably led to Singaporeans in Thailand being discriminated against, and many Singaporeans avoiding going to Thailand for fear of their safety. Other than affecting Thailand's tourism industry, I believe that it also has a very harmful effect on Singapore. As a small country needing to rely on other countries for food and also to keep itself safe because of its small defense force, international relations are very important to Singapore. By having a strained relationship with Thailand, a country Singapore had defense agreements with, and relies on for many products, Singapore will also need to bear a lot of negative effects.

However, in the recent 2011 elections, Thaksin's sister Yingluck Shinawatra's party won a majority of the seats in parliament. Her main selling point was being a "clone" of Thaksin, and she would implement Thaksin's beliefs and policies when in government. This could mean an improvement of Thai-Singapore relations, because rather than the government being anti-Thaksin and hence anti-Singapore, the government would be supportive of the actions Thaksin did in the past, and hence support his close relationship with Singapore. This would help to reduce hostility and ensure greater safety for Singaporeans visiting Thailand. It could also mean further defense and economic agreements that could be mutually beneficial.