Australian Ambassador visit promotes Australian - Thai Cooperation

by Mirin MacCarthy

An Australian Trade Mission, led by the Australian Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. William Fisher, reminded local business operators of the importance placed upon Thailand by the Australian business community. "The level of involvement of Australian companies here in the Eastern Seaboard is very impressive," said Mr. Fisher, addressing a luncheon at the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate last week.

Members of the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce backed up his claims, with all the "heavyweights" from the A.T.C.C. being present, including their president John Hancock and committee man Hardy Papson (BHP). Amongst other Australian firms present were CSR, Lend Lease, Concrete Constructions, Loxley Newteck and Bendix.

The Ambassador emphasized the connection between the various industries established locally. At GM, for example, 18 of its 19 buildings were clad by BHP and the design and engineering was carried out in Melbourne. The major car makers, the Auto Alliance (Ford & Mazda), were working with TAFE Colleges in Victoria to introduce training programmes to Thailand. In addition, many of the plants at the Hemaraj developed estate were built by Leighton Engineering from Australia. "This shows the extraordinary links between Australian companies and Thailand," he said.

With typical Australian enthusiasm, A.T.C.C. President John Hancock outlined some of the plans for the future being promoted by the Australian-Thai Chamber. These included a pro-active association with Eastern Seaboard companies. This was seen as a fore-runner to the amendment to the Chambers of Commerce Act, which it is hoped will be enacted soon, to allow chambers of commerce to move out of Bangkok.

The A.T.C.C. also fosters business cooperation in Thailand, even to the point of hosting events in Australia such as "Attracting and keeping Investors into the Asia-Pacific", and being a joint sponsor of a luncheon with Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai in Bangkok in June.

To celebrate the Ambassadorial visit, David Nardone of Hemaraj Land & Development put on an "Aussie BBQ" for the Trade Mission, producing an immediate homesickness for the down-to-earth Ambassador. "I had to be forcibly restrained by my wife not to return for a fourth and fifth helping," he said.

Mr. Fisher, the A.T.C.C. and the Austrade backed Trade Mission then toured the Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, making full "walk through" inspections of the Ford/Mazda manufacturing facility, SIG Combibloc and Bendix. Tom Munro, the Managing Director of Bendix (Thailand) was particularly proud of his plant, claiming that the air quality inside the building would be better than the outside atmosphere. Much of the technology for this was imported from Australia and the winners would be the Thai workers employed in the brake pad manufacturing facility.

This visit by H.E. William Fisher was welcomed by the Eastern Seaboard business community and the reinforcing of strong links between Australia and Thailand is obviously beneficial for both countries.

Tons of supplies land on Thai shores for Cobra Gold

By Rich Roesler
Stripes staff writer

Humvees, howitzer rounds and hundreds of tons of other military supplies landed on Thai shores as five ships unloaded their cargo for the 10,000-troop Cobra Gold military exercises in Thailand.

Three ships from the Maritime Prepositioning Ships squadron 3, based in Guam and Saipan, arrived off the Thai coast, squadron commander Commodore Fred Bertsch said in a phone interview. The three ships were carrying battle equipment, such as amphibious vehicles, and more than 150,000 gallons of motor vehicle fuel for the exercise.

The MPS ships arrived on the heels of two U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command cargo ships, which unloaded field equipment, cots, generators, tents and other supplies for advance parties of the IIIrd Marine Expeditionary Force, an Okinawa unit that’s a key player in the exercise wargames. The two ships, the USNS Cape Inscription and Strong Virginia, also dropped off gear and supplies for the Army’s forces participating in the exercise.

"We’re keeping everyone in guns and butter," said Bertsch. "We have generators, we have water buffaloes (water tanks on wheels), we have tracked vehicles, heavy dirt-moving vehicles."

More than 10,000 U.S. troops from all four armed services took part in the annual combat exercises alongside 6,200 Thai troops. Cobra Gold, despite Thailand contributing 10,000 fewer troops than last year due to its economic straits, is one of the largest exercises in the U.S. Pacific Command this year. The exercise lasted from May 18 to June 2.

At the Thai port of Thung Prong, south of Bangkok, the Cape Inscription unloaded 11 shipping containers of ammunition, ranging from small arms shells to large howitzer shells, said Lt. Cmdr. Tony Vraa, commander of MSC’s Okinawa office. The Motor Vessel 1st Lt. Jack Lummus unloaded fuel at the same port, Bertsch said.

Most of the gear and supplies came off the ships at Chuk Samet harbor. The Motor Vessel 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez and the crane ship SS Gopher State were prepared to unload the equipment. Since the harbor is relatively shallow, the gear was put on barge ferries about four miles out at sea and floated in, where the Gopher State’s crane plucked the equipment up and set them on land, Bertsch said. The two ships were joined by the Lummus, the squadron flagship, once it finished off-loading its fuel, Bertsch said.

The Marititime Prepositioning Ships are essentially floating warehouses full of ready-to-go combat equipment. They dropped off 190 pieces of equipment, Bertsch said, "which is a fairly large load.’’ But with the squadron capable of supporting 17,000 Marines, off-loading the battle gear in five days, he said, "for us, this is just a very small part of what we could do."

The MPS ships also did crane demonstrations and participated in security exercises with a harbor guard group whose job it is to protect port facilities from infiltrators, such as divers trying to attach limpet mines to the cargo ships.

The MPS ships will load up again during the second week in June, heading back to Okinawa and then home to Guam and Saipan, Bertsch said. The Military Sealift Command cargo ships will load up after that.

Visa rule changes

by Barrie Kenyon

Pattaya Immigration Bureau has announced that non-immigrant visas can now be extended only for one month (2 X 15 days). This replaces the former guideline which gave extensions of up to 90 further days. Tourist visas are also affected and now carry a one month’s extension plus short additions amounting to a fortnight or so. One off charges for extensions are 500 baht.

The new policy brings Pattaya into line with Bangkok Immigration. A spokesman said, "There has been evidence of abuse of the system and the new framework is similar to the regulations in force before 1997."

For the past year or so, immigration rules had been relaxed as part of the Amazing Thailand promotion. The new rules are designed to ensure that farangs do not "live" in Thailand on visas designed to be temporary permits.

NOTE: Police Major General Chalermdej Jombunud, Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police Department, will be describing recent developments in the procedures for granting visas, work permits and permanent residence at the British Chamber of Commerce June Monthly Luncheon on Wednesday, June 10th from 12 noon at the Hilton International Hotel Bangkok, Ballroom A. The cost of this luncheon is 600 baht net per person including soft drinks only and inclusive of VAT. For more information, contact the British Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok, tel. 260-7288-9, fax: 260-7287.

British “Internet porn director” nailed in Pattaya

Police learned that UK national Kim Francis Dabber, 45, had a thriving business selling pornographic movies and nude pictures over the Internet. The man was operating his lewd business in a well-known hotel in Pattaya.

A squad of Pattaya police apprehended Dabber in his hotel room. Presenting a search warrant officers were flabbergasted by the amount of hi-tech equipment in Dabber’s room. Officers confiscated 2 sophisticated video cameras, klieg lights, spotlights, colour filters and much other equipment. Police also found 200 rolls of pictures of nude Thai women. Among other evidence found were 20 pornographic videotapes and 50 empty videotapes.

Officers told Dabber his wrongs, read him his rights and took him to the Pattaya police station.

Dabber formerly worked a systems analyst in Kuwait. Coming to Pattaya, Dabber found comely prostitutes willing to appear in the films. Each artiste was paid US$300 per film.

The UK national had 6 women in his stable of ‘stars’. He purportedly sold each tape for Baht 15,000-20,000. He told police he made tremendous amounts of money selling his wares over the Internet.

Being a systems analyst, he also had a ‘cutting edge’ in the technology area.

He was charged with producing pornography for sale across international borders leading to the destruction of the country’s reputation.

Would - be gunman foiled by Karma

During their mid-afternoon nap, Pattaya police were awakened by a call. A man was firing a gun in a well known hotel.

At the scene, officers found Mr. Somchai Yoosukh, 36, a chauffeur with the hotel. Somchai appeared to have a flesh wound in his left leg. Police rushed him to the hospital for treatment.

Returning to the hotel, officers found a ‘Saturday Night Special’ lying on the ground. Police also found 1 shell casing.

Meticulous investigations reveal that Mr. Somchai was drinking and became angry at Mr. Prasit (surname unknown). Determined to teach Prasit a lesson, Somchai staggered home and got his not so trusty revolver. Walking back to the hotel, Somchai gave passers-by and tourists quite a fright, as he was waving his gun in the air. People were seen taking refuge in dumpsters and diving into hedges.

Meanwhile, the hotel garage was in a state of pandemonium. Prasit, guessing Somchai’s evil intentions, had grabbed an axe and was brandishing it in the air. Seeing this self-appointed grim reaper, hotel staff gave the garage wide berth.

Tempers were hot and Somchai returned, gun at the ready. But he made a Karmic miscalculation when he shot the gun. He forgot to point it at Mr. Prasit and instead, shot himself in the leg.

At that point, Prasit disappeared like a vampire at sunrise. Police were summoned.

Returning to the hospital, police charged Somchai with possession of an illegal weapon, attempted bodily harm to another person, and disturbing the peace.

Chantaburi Airport receiving top heavy support

Prime Minister Chuan Leekphai caused quite a stir when he told the media that he was giving the ‘go ahead’ for the building of the Chantaburi Airport. He told reporters that this project had been in the planning stages for a long time and construction should begin soon.

The Prime Minister said he realised that the U-Tapao Airport was already finished, but that it was a large international airport. The Chantaburi facility would be for domestic flights. The Prime Minister said as blueprints were already finished, it should be built.

Police General Sanan Khajornprasert, Minister of the Interior, said he agreed with the Prime Minister. He added that this was not a publicity stunt to get support for the Democrats. Mentioning that many other parts of Thailand had regional airports, it was time for the Eastern Seaboard to come into line with the rest of the country. He too, said that U-Tapao was an international and not a regional airport.

Mr. Pradit Phatraprasit, the Minister of Communications was in Roi Et province at the time of the Prime Minister’s news conference. He was presiding over the opening of the Roi-Et regional airport. Mr. Pradit also supported the building of the airport in Chantaburi. He cited the fact that it was distant from Bangkok and that Chantaburi was a perfect tourist destination with a bright future. He too, said that politics had nothing to do with the decision.

Mr. Phichai Rattakul, Deputy Prime Minister said he supported the airport. He said any resistance to building the airport due to the state of the economy and not in principle. He went on to say that the Chantaburi area is Thailand’s most productive fruit growing area. The need for an airport to facilitate transporting of the province’s huge fruit crop was obvious. He said another factor was that the U-Tapao airport was a bit close to Bangkok. The Chantaburi facility would allow people travelling to the east coast to reach farther destinations. He refused to comment further on the U-Tapao question.

Mr. Meechai Ruchipan, the Head of the Senate, said that anything which brought US dollars into the country was a viable project. He continued, saying the fastest way to do this is through tourism.

Mr. Sanoh Thienthong, Secretary of the New Aspiration Party and former Minister of the Interior, also agrees with the building of the airport. He said that the construction companies bids have already been accepted and approved and it was time that work began.

One dissenter among this group was Mr. Sonthaya Khunpleum, a member of the Chart Thai Party and Deputy Minister of Communications. He feels that it is a necessity to have an international airport on the Eastern Seaboard. He feels that the main considerations are necessity and suitability. He cited the recent meeting in Pattaya of the Members of the Prime Minister’s Office. All had agreed that U-Tapao was most prepared to become the main airport in the Eastern Region of Thailand.

Mr. Sansak Ngarmphiches of the Chart Thai Party and Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, said there is much discussion about U-Tapao as the Royal Thai Navy owns the land. He said the Navy was always helpful in providing convenience to any using the airport. He added that the Royal Navy had never hampered any efforts to develop the airport’s potential. Mr. Sansak concluded that the U-Tapao airport could already be considered partially commercial.

Mr. Sonthaya also added that building the Chantaburi airport will cost 600 million baht. Mr. Sonthaya said although this budget has been approved by government ministers, it may fail to pass in the house of representatives.

On May 31st , the Prime Minister visited Chantaburi. He stated that he knew that Chantaburi had often been a part of the opposition in Parliament. He said he was happy to see the province so prosperous. The Prime Minister said he was aware of the industriousness of the residents. He reminded them that the airport had been in the planning stages for two governmental administrations but construction had been delayed due to the economic crash.

Chantaburi is one of Thailand’s wealthiest provinces and has the potential to become an international trade center. The province was once Thailand’s main gemstone producing provinces. At present, no new mines are being opened due to environmental consideration. But remote sensing has proven that there are still untapped deposits of gems.

The airport was first approved during the Banharn Silpa-Archa administration. The government poured 42 million baht into designing the project during Banharn’s and Gen. Chaovalit Yonchaiyuth’s administration. Then the economy died and the project was ‘put on hold.’ Now that it is being re-activated, a ‘can of worms’ has been opened.

The Prime Minister concluded that the Chantaburi airport was to be a tourist centre and when built would only produce positive results for the Eastern Seaboard.

The U-Tapao airport would continue to be developed. The Prime Minister promised Chantaburi natives that as soon as the budget was approved by Parliament, construction would begin.

Copyright 1998 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Created by Andy Gombaz, assisted by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek.