Thailand marks full return to global stage after hosting fruitful Asean meet

BY MOST accounts, Thailand's hosting of the 34th Asean Summit in Bangkok over the weekend was largely a success. The meetings - involving all 10 of the regional bloc's leaders including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - took place smoothly. This was the first major event of such a scale that Bangkok had hosted since a hotly contested general election in March.

The last time Thailand was Asean chair a decade ago in 2009, when the leaders' summit in Pattaya was abruptly cancelled when anti-government protesters stormed the summit venue. Left with no other option, then prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva decided to scrap the event. This time, however, former military chief turned elected civilian leader Prayut Chan-o-cha - bolstered by an enhanced legitimacy after the election - welcomed his counterparts from the region with open arms as Thailand staged a fruitful summit that many felt marked the country's full return to the international stage.

At the end of Sunday's meetings, Asean's leaders saw eye-to-eye on a number of initiatives. Crucially, they pledged to work together on the regional economy and security to strengthen their positions amid tensions between China and the United States. Mr Prayut stressed that Asean would need all its collective strength in order to have sufficient bargaining power globally, especially given the growing rift between the world's two-largest economies.