"Yet I noticed that the Philippines last week was continuing in its confidential deal with Thailand to secure a portion of Thai rice production as a reaction to last year's crisis, which hit Filipinos very hard. It is significant that such a market-fixing deal is going ahead; it is also significant that it is a "secret" deal."
I don't know if using the Philippines as an example of status quo economic reality really supports your argument. Next to Myammar the Philippines is one of the most poorly run nations in Southeast Asia. The reason that the Philippines was engaging in a secret deal on rice with Thailand likely was to head off competition from other regional rice dependent countries. The Philippines does not have the capacity to meet its domestic rice needs due to conversion of vast tracks of agricultural land for residential purposes and an agriculture policy so ill conceived and corrupt it leaves thousands of rice farms fallow during the dry season due to lack of adequate irrigation and inflated farming costs. This secret deal with Thailand for rice was likely a political move to avoid famine in certain regions of the Philippines and take negative focus off the Administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that is trying to wrangle a change in the Philippine Constitution that would allow her to extend her term.
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