Asian editorial excerpts.

TOKYO, Nov. 1 Kyodo

Selected editorial excerpts from the Asia-Pacific press:

FTA TO DEEPEN THAI-JAPAN TIES (The Nation, Bangkok)

The Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (Jtepa), which comes into effect today, will greatly expand trade and investment between the two countries, both of which have a strategic interest to team up economically to fully exploit opportunities presented by globalization...Thailand needs this agreement as much as Japan does because the strategic economic interests of both countries have been so intertwined as to be inseparable.

The bilateral trade pact will also enhance Thailand's position as a regional hub for the Japanese investment network in the Southeast Asian region, especially in the automotive sector...We can expect to see more direct investment by Japan's medium-sized enterprises or joint ventures between Thai and Japanese companies. That will improve Thailand's competitive edge because such investments and joint ventures will lead to technological transfer that help Thai entrepreneurs upgrade their manufacturing processes.

As partners under the agreement, Thailand and Japan will be a good match because virtually none of their export products are similar in nature, nor do they compete directly against one another.

The interim Surayud government did the right thing to go ahead with the signing and implementation of the Jtepa rather than deferring the decision to the next democratically elected government.

Although the historic agreement was signed and implemented in the absence of an elected Parliament to scrutinize and ratify it, careful cost-benefit analysis has been conducted and there is overwhelming evidence to show that potential advantages far outweigh possible drawbacks. Besides, Thailand badly needs to win back the confidence of foreign investors who were upset by the September 19, 2006 military coup that toppled the Thaksin Shinawatra government.

Many foreign investors were also taken aback by certain policies of the interim government that were widely misconstrued as anti-foreign or unfriendly to investors, like the strict capital-control measures and the stiffening of the enforcement of the Foreign Business Act. The implementation of the Jtepa sends a clear message that Thailand, which will revert to full democracy after the December 23 general election, is set to improve the foreign investment climate and to fully re-engage and compete in the global economy.

(Nov. 1)