By Mr Kavi Chongkittavorn, Senior Communications Advisor:  Newly elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai soon after being sworn in. It was his first meeting with a dignitary from Asean though he had earlier met with representatives from the US, China, and Japan. Suddenly, the old flame of friendship between Thailand and the Philippines was being rekindled.

It was supposed to be a 15-minute courtesy call but turned out to be a hefty discussion session lasting 35 minutes. The two talked about food security in the Philippines, ASEAN affairs, and the crisis in Myanmar, as well as prospects for Thailand and Philippine relations. They even found time for a little nostalgia, reminiscing about the visit of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great and Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother to Manila in July 1963 even though the invitation came from the late president Diosdado Macapagal. Five years later, President Ferdinand Marcos made a three-day state visit to Bangkok in June 1968. King Bhumibol presented an honorary degree of law to the president. Now his son has told Mr Don that he will be attending the APEC 2022 leaders' meeting in November in Bangkok.

The inaugural encounter was a good one as the new president, popularly known as Bongbong, said his country would import more rice from Thailand due to growing domestic demand. That's good news for Thai farmers and rice exporters. The Prayut government has to decide as soon as possible whether the rice deal will be done under the so-called government-to-government scheme or through solely private agreements. In the past, such deals were regulated by the government to guarantee the export price. That was when Thailand was the world's No.1 rice producer and exporter. Now, India and Vietnam are two major rice growers with competitive export prices. However, later on, Manila changed the procurement system and relied on the market mechanism. It is likely that the Thai government will respond positively to Bongbong's appeal.

During the meeting, the new president also touched on the negative impacts of the Russian-Ukraine war, which have affected countries around the world. The five-month war has already caused food crises. Due to time constraints, both sides agreed that there will be a new round of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation early next year after a gap of nine years.

Lest we forgot, the Philippines was the first country in Southeast Asia to sign a trade cooperation agreement with Thailand back in 1949. But bilateral trade volume was not impressive reaching only US$10.8 billion (385 billion baht) in 2020, where Thailand has enjoyed a trade surplus. Thai exports are mainly computer parts, electronic circuits and products, cosmetics, and edible oil.

It is hoped that upcoming rice exports will augment the trade volume. Dusit Thani Group, Charoen Pokphand, and Ital-Thai are big investors in the Philippines amounting to US$238 million, while Filipino investors such as San Miguel and Monte Nissan, putting in US$520 million, focus on beverages and consumer goods.

During the Cold War, Thailand and the Philippines were considered buddies in arms. They were strongly anti-communist and sided with the US as its allies. They were members under the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, popularly known as the Manila Pact. Albeit the military pact is now defunct, its offshoot, the Thanat-Rusk Communique of 1962, remains intact. From 1950-1953, their soldiers fought alongside each other in the Korean war as part of the international peacekeeping force. Thailand and the Philippines were the only two Southeast Asian countries to dispatch troops to the war. Both sides suffered a total of 1,368 casualties including 116 Filipino soldiers killed. Today, the two countries' miniature flags can still be seen in the truce village of Panmunjom at the dividing line between North and South.

But truth be told, beyond that nobody has had anything to say about the Thailand-Philippines relations for ages, except on the Asean circuit. One simple reason is that the two countries have no mutual problems. To the Thais, the Filipinos are a reflection of themselves, friendly and easy-going, and fond of parties. They are day-to-day survivalists. To the Filipinos, Thais are like twin brothers raised by different partners who speak Thai. Lo and behold, among us, we cannot tell the difference until we open our mouths and speak.