Entire region affected by Thai riots, say analysts

The effects of violent protests in Thailand that forced the cancellation of a regional summit have spread beyond the country's borders, analysts said yesterday.

The standoff between protesters and the Thai government - which caused enormous losses to the national economy and brought the capital to a virtual standstill - appeared to have ended yesterday after protest leaders surrendered and called off their three-week siege of the prime minister's office.

All of East Asia was affected when ASEAN-related meetings were postponed, said Pang Zhongying, a professor on international studies at Renmin University of China.

"It's a loss to East Asia as well as the world economy. Because of the delay, widely-anticipated agreements and measures to fight the global economic crisis couldn't be approved," Pang said.

ASEAN members' goal to integrate their economies by 2015 could also be impacted, he added.

"It's crucial to find a permanent solution to the splits in society," Pang said, referring to the conflict between groups backing or opposing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Liu Jiangyong, a scholar of Asia-Pacific studies at Tsinghua University, called the division between the ruling class and grassroots supporters of Thaksin, who was ousted from power in 2006 "a lesion in the process of Thailand's modernization".

It is crucial for Thailand to restore stability, otherwise its economy, particularly tourism, will be badly hurt and "the public will suffer in the end", he said.

China is paying close attention to the situation in the neighboring country, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

"We hope Thailand returns to normal, and maintains stability and economic growth," spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

"We also want to remind people traveling to Thailand to stay up to date on information and warnings on the Foreign Ministry website."