Delegates and observers representing 17 countries gathered for the Southeast Asia Peace Operations Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Air Chief Marshall (ACM) Chanchai Chanchidchingchai, Deputy Chief of Joint Staff, Royal Thai Armed Forces, officially opened the Southeast Asia Peace Operations Symposium held in Bangkok, Thailand, 10 -14 July 2000. He welcomed the delegates to Thailand and expressed his view on the symposium’s purpose.

"Today, complex conflicts caused by differences in economics, ethnic culture and religious beliefs, have erupted on almost every continent and are causing enormous loss of resources and property," ACM Chanchai said. "Most terrible is the toll they take on humanity and societies. Stopping these complex conflicts and restoring peace and stability is extremely difficult and costly in terms of political effort, manpower and resources.

Air Chief Marshall Chanchai Chanchidchingchai, Deputy Chief of Joint Staff of the host, Royal Thai Armed Forces, opens the Southeast Asia Peace Operations Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand.

"The objective of this non-political, multinational symposium is to provide a forum for senior implementing staff to exchange views on peacekeeping, to examine the issues that affect our nations, and to enhance the readiness of participant forces to conduct these operations under a United Nations mandate," he concluded after officially opening the symposium.

U.S. Ambassador Richard E. Hecklinger echoed the air chief marshall’s views, explaining the importance of conducting peace operations:

"Peace operations can involve the separation of adversaries, disarming of combatants, and maintenance of cease-fires. But they can also facilitate the delivery of humanitarian relief, enable refugees and displaced persons to return home, and reconstruct war-torn communities ... and help create conditions under which political reconciliation may occur and free elections may be held.

"As a result, peace operations can alleviate the very conditions that brought about the crisis in the first place ... by preventing small conflicts from growing into larger wars, peace operations save lives, economies, and cultures," the ambassador noted.

The symposium, hosted by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and co-sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command, and by the United Nations, was attended by representatives from 17 countries in the region.

Participants from Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States attended. Bangladesh, Canada, Japan, Madagascar, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, and Tonga sent observers.