[ARG] Call to Thailand

[Naio90]

President Cambiasso would make a private and encrypted call to his thai counterpart.

Alex

 

[Alex]

Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda, using an encrypted and private line, would pick with the phone call.

"Hello, President Cambiasso. This is Prime Minister Prem speaking, what can I do for you today?"

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Prime Minister Prem, how are you? It is a pleasure speaking to you. Let me congratulate you and your cabinet for your appointment, I'm sure that you are the right option to bring Thailand back as a relevant international player, and a major influence in the asian continent.

We are very interested in working together with your country in a variety of issues, spanning bilateral commerce, international politics and military cooperation. If you dont mind, we could start by talking about trade. Do you have any other issues you would like to introduce to the agenda?"

Alex

 

[Alex]

"I am well, thank you. Although I must admit that my government's appointment was not the most peaceful... as you may know, my country has suffered through many military dictatorships and coups in the past... it was not quite so easy to remove the last coup government. But I hope that working close with His Majesty, Rama IX will insure an ongoing democratic government.

I will admit, Argentina is the first nation to have contacted us since we've entered the international stage. We can begin our talks with trade if that is what you wish. Currently, our five biggest exports are: machinery, including computers;
electrical machinery and equipment; rubber and rubber articles; plastics and plastic articles; and meat and seafood preparations. I have not referred to the exports registrar myself but from my understanding Argentina exports petroleum and gas alongside lithium? These two products would be of the greatest use to the Rattanakosin Kingdom."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"we are confident you have the power and wisdom to mantain a firm course towards progress, facing both internal as well as foreign challenges. Rest assured that Argentina intends to back Thailand, as we see a potential alliance between both our nations.

Regarding trade, we are very interested in importing thai machinery, electrical machinery, rubber and plastics. In return we would like to export petroleum/gas, as you well mentioned, vehicles, grain, lithium and soybean derivaties to Thailand, would that be in order?

Alex

 

[Alex]

"Thank you, Mr. President - your support is appreciated, especially since Argentina is the first and only nation to have contacted us for diplomatic talks... However, may I ask that you refer to Thailand as either Rattanakosin or the Rattanakosin Kingdom? We have decided to drop the name of Thailand and move on under a, hopefully, extended democratic and monarchist identity.

We would be willing to import petroleum/gas, vehicles, grain, and lithium. But, as of right now, we do not operate any merchant vessels. Therefore, importing and exporting will prove somewhat complicated."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Yes, of course, I will inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to change all official documents to start refering to your nation as the Rattanakosin Kingdom.

Regarding your temporary shortage of merchant vessels, I can offer you two options. The first one would be to transport your goods on the argentine ships that bring the argentine products to the Kingdom, back to Argentina. The second, I can refer you to Patagonia Shipping, an argentine company dedicated to the leasing of merchant ships and handling of trade routes."

Alex

 

[Alex]

"Thank you, Mr. President.

As of right now, our funds are focused on the military and countering the current threats of Laos and China. So we will ask that Argentina both ship and receive the products. In the future, however, we will certainly take a look at Patagonia Shipping. I believe that brings trade to a close, yes? Shall we discuss international politics? The Kingdom has been focused on internal politics for years now, I must say that we don't have much information of the current on-goings. What are your opinions on the other nations?"

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"To finish off the trade issue, where do you want the argentine goods to be delivered and yours to be picked up? And with what frequency should we run the route?​

​

As for international politics, its a delicate issue, as always. The Argentine Republic has been very active on that level lately. To start, we have to clarify that our Republic is not part of the General Assembly, since we do not agree with the capacity it has to dictate over internal laws while being able to be manipulated by a few number of nations, like in the Canada Affairs promoted by Norway. That has certainly shaped the way Argentine related to the world, but by no means has had an impact on our global presence.​

​

The main incident on an international level we have to mention is the recent confrontation with the Kingdom of Sweden. The scandinavian country recently attempted to claim, annex and military the whole antarctic continent, ignoring the fact that many nations had their own claims, and therefore breaking the statu quo of stability and peace that reigned on that continent for over half century. Argentina never recognized that annexation and confronted them, leading to a formal declaration of war after the swedish attempted to block the passage of an argentine unarmed icebreaker with one of their navy frigates (which ended up with the swedish frigate on the bottom of the sea). More confrontation was avoided when the swedes accepted to retreat from the area claimed by Argentina and the ceasefire is currently in effect until the GA (where Argentina is attending as a necesary non-Member party) resolves the issue.​

​

This clearly puts Sweden as the nation more hostile to us, specially after the diplomatic incidicent where we detained former swedish diplomatic staff in Buenos Aires after their refusal to leave the country.​

​

On the other side, Argentina has fostered very good relations with our south american neighbour, Brazil, a strategic ally of us, Russia, a big partner and one with whom we have an important military hardware deal through RusAr, Zaire, which represents our main point of contact in Africa and with whom we are collaborating on multiple infrastructure projects. Finally, we have also to mention Ireland, wich has proven to be a good counterpart for several cultural and sports projects. ​

​

We do have contact with other nations, but would classify the relations as cordial, since we had no time or opportunity to discuss more ways of collaboration, such as Poland, Germany, Italy, Tanzania and Portugal.​

​

Finally, regarding other "bigger" players, we did not have recent communications with the UK, but besides the historical Malvinas issue, and maybe some aspects of the antarctic situation, there is no reason to confront. ​

​

As for the US, their Government is still to green and we are looking how they position themselves in the current geopolitical scenario. Something similar happens with South Africa, we are monitoring their apartheid policies. While Argentina does not really care about internal politics of other nations, since thats their domain, we do have to look how they engage with their surrounding countries.​

​

How about the Kingdom?"​

Alex

 

[Alex]

"All the trade can be performed at Bangkok, that'll make everything as simple as possible.

Hmm, yes. The world seems to be in the same unstable state as it was years ago... What is your opinion on the nations surrounding Rattanakosin? China specifically but also Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge still remains in the jungles of norther Cambodia, which poses a direct threat to the Kingdom. Alongside this, Laos remains close to Vietnam and their push for communism in the South-East Asian sphere. And now I've heard news of China re-entering the global stage... all of these nations pose a direct threat to the Kingdom. It would be nice to know Argentina's opinion on all of them - especially considering that Laos and Cambodia were once Rattanakosin territory.

As for our opinion of the other global nations... there isn't much to say to be quite honest. The only nations other than Argentina that we've had contact with are Germany and Italy, both of which have been good."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Excellent, we will then submit all the necesary paperwork to start the trade route.

We are by no means experts in southeastern asian affairs, and do not have the insight on the geopolitical situation there to make an assesment as good as yours. What we know is that Japan and China have recently appointed new Governments and they are attempting to come back to the international stage. We stil have to see how they position themselves, byt they both have the potential of being major influences over there. The Kingdom has an advantage, as your "older" Government had time to prepare and identify the naitonal goals.

As for Laos and Cambodia, well, they have been in the past a safe heaven for multiple communist and leftist subversive groups that organized and funded by foreign interest could pose a serious threat to your nations stability. Im confident that if proofs of a real threat would come up, that would be a strong fact to back up an intervention on a territory that used to be Siam. From what I recall, colonialist maneuvers like the 1893 french and british agreement that resulted in the forceful cession of Lao territories east of the Mekong is an example of that. The french pressure in 1906–1907 that forced your former King to concede control of territory on the west bank of the Mekong opposite Luang Prabang and around Champasak in southern Laos, as well as western Cambodia are only examples of colonial interventionism in border making of souther nations."

Alex

 

[Alex]

"You're correct. Between 1785 and 1909, the Kingdom of Rattanakosin - or Siam, lost territory to both the British and the French. We lost Cambodia, Laos, provinces of what would become the nation of Malaysia and a province which would become Burma, or Myanmar and a section of what would become northern Vietnam. Roughly 486,000 kilometres square worth of territory. As of right now, Pol Pot and his armed insurgents and militants who committed heinous crimes and genocide in the nation remains in the jungles of northern Cambodia and the nation is in civil war and as for Laos, their military and their government continues to perform human rights violations.

It is our hopes that by the end of the year, we will be able to intervene in both nations to end the human rights violations and bring those who committed a genocide to justice. If Argentina could make their support for us known once this occurs, it would be much appreciated. Now, I believe you wished to discuss military cooperation? I believe this would be the best time to do so."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Argentina will always support those nations that struggle with colonialism and its heritage. Please, give us all the information you can muster in advance, so that our legal and political teams can device the best possible public position.

Yes, with trade and politics out of our way, there is certianly something we wanted to discuss, and that might eventually be in your benefit considering your plans. The Argentine Republic is seeking to establish a air and naval base on or near the indian ocean, to provide additional security for the argentine merchant fleet - one of the biggest out there - against pirate activity. This also would give Argentina more projection and in case of incidents in the Rattanakosin Kingdom, a closer way of providing relief. Due to legal reasons, and to guarantee a secure long term presence, we would need for said, small, piece of land to be transfered under complete argentine sovereignty."

Alex

 

[Alex]

"I see.

I believe the Rattanakosin has some free territory that could be transferred to Argentina for such a purpose. The best locale that I have pin-pointed would be the area located at 8.110706, 98.747053 in the south of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and on the shores of the Andaman Sea. The area would be roughly six kilometres by six kilometres. We would be willing to transfer this to Argentina for a price, alongside conditions. The first of which would be the transfer of 2,500,000,000.00$ in funds to the Kingdom, I believe that amount is reasonable for the land purchased alongside the purpose that this land will have. Alongside this, we would like the domestic production rights for the following: TAM main battle tanks and the Intrepida-class missile boats. Lastly, we would request that this base remains open to Rattanakosin naval and air force personnel and equipment for refueling and rearmament.

Is this reasonable for you? I am, of course, open to negotiations."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"The demands sound reasonable. Would it be possible to pay the 2,5bn in 3 monthly installments of 1bn, 1bn and 500m? The DPRs for the TAMs and Intrepida's have the green light, as well as acccess to the Kingdom's naval and air force for refueling and rearmament.

We would also like to add a small 1km wide line along the coast of the assigned lot of land, to conduct small naval maneuvers and for easier repositioning and docking operations. This would allow to not have to enter into Rattanakosin waters, as well as a 200m water corridor from said line until international waters, for the same reason to allow access to open sea without having to enter your waters. Obviously in both cases, the Agreement we will sign will include free access to those waters for your navy without restrictions.

This is what we have in mind, layed on the plot of land you are offering (map privately faxed)":

 

[Alex]

"The three months installments works for us. The additional one kilometre along the coast is also acceptable and has been granted to you in the deal. As long as your planned construction does not destroy any of the Thai roads and highways then the provided proposal is more than acceptable for us. Once you send us the first billion then we can consider this proposal ratified and Argentina's base in the Rattanakosin Kingdom confirmed."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"I have just been informed by our legal department that it would be better to propose you to use a Rattanakosin naval base instead. We would be willing to pay a yearly fee and also cover any infrastructure and expansion projects that would be required to host the argentine contingent. Would that we possible? We would still be looking for any location on the Adaman sea."

Alex

 

[Alex]

"I see, well that's no problem at all. We could lease this territory instead if you prefer that option. Otherwise we have two naval bases that could be used by the Argentine naval forces which are attached to the Andaman Sea. These two naval bases are Phuket and Phangnga Naval Bases. If we leased the territory then the price would be 1,000,000,000.00$ per year, if we leased the naval base the price would be 750,000,000.00$. Are either of these options reasonable for Argentina?"

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"We would like the option of leasing one of your bases, and we would also cover the modernization and expansion costs for the facilities we need. Those are basically the expansion of docking spaces, living quarters for increased personnel and the construction of air facilities to operate long range maritime surveillance and attack aircraft from there, if required.

We would be choosing the Phuket location.

Once everything is done and in operation, we would also like to conduct joint exercises and patrol operations there, is your Government is interested."


Alex

 

[Alex]

"Usually we would be more than happy to lease Phuket Naval Base... as of currently it serves as one of our most important naval bases for our navy. Hm..." The Prime Minister would think for a moment. "I have another idea, Mr. President. Instead of leasing a naval base, how about you gave us the money to build a new one, exactly where you planned to purchase land, and in return we lease to you this base - free of charge?

As for the joint exercises and patrol operations, we would be more than glad to partake in this. I assume we would be doing this exercise in the Andaman Sea?"

Naio90