Thailand yesterday decided to suspend indefinitely all high-level meetings with Singapore, including a ministerial dialogue next month, to protest the island's insensitivity to Thailand's political situation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinond said yesterday.

An informed government source said this diplomatic retaliation could also affect the planned summit later this year between the leaders of the two countries if the situation does not improve.

Yesterday's move was a retaliation against Singapore for permitting ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to meet deputy premier S Jayakumar and to use the island-state as a launching pad to attack the government.

"We informed the Singaporean [ambassador] that we are concerned by the political movements made by Thaksin," Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told reporters after Thai Foreign Ministry officials met Ambassador Peter Chan.

"Singapore should be more cautious about allowing such movements as we have already revoked Thaksin's diplomatic passport," Surayud said.

In response to Thailand's move, the Singaporean Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying they were "saddened" by the Thai action and expressed hope that Bangkok will respect the island-state's position "as a sovereign country."

"The Thai government did not notify us that Dr Thaksin has been charged for any offence. There is also no restriction on where he can travel to," the statement said.

"He [Thaksin] had chosen to make a visit to Singapore on his own. Dr Thaksin had asked to meet Deputy Prime Minister Professor S Jayakumar, who is an old friend. It was purely a social and private meeting. No official calls or meetings were arranged." The statement went on to say: "There is no reason for Singapore to turn Dr Thaksin away. Prior to Singapore, Dr Thaksin had also visited several other countries without any protest by the Thai government."

 Krit Garnjanagoonchorn, permanent secretary at the Foreign Ministry, yesterday summoned Singapore ambassador Chan to lodge Thailand's protest.

"The main reason behind our measures was because Singaporean President SR Nathan had told PM Surayud on November 9, 2006, that Singapore will not betray [Thailand] and will not do anything to damage the trust and understanding between the two countries," Kitti said.

Informed sources told The Nation the decision to hit back at Singapore was reached after Surayud asked the Foreign Ministry to assess the damage caused by Thaksin's meeting with Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar, as well as his interviews with CNN and the Wall Street Journal (Asia) on Monday's night.

Last week in Cebu, Chan informed Foreign Minister Nitya Phibulsonggram and Krit Garnjanagoonchorn that Thaksin would be visiting Singapore for four days on a private visit and that Jayakumar would host him a private lunch. No immediate action was taken after the message was relayed to the Thai side. But Thaksin appeared to have crossed the threshold when he went to the foreign media during his visit to attack the government and the junta.

A Thai source said Thaksin's visit was at the invitation of Singapore.

In his interview with Wall Street Journal, Thaksin discredited the Thai government's economic policies and also derided the power seizure that deposed him from power on September 19.

Thaksin also took a political pot-shot during his five-minute stint on CNN and reminded the audience that he was democratically elected.

 Thaksin also denied the government's accusations that he had any link with a series of bomb blasts on 31 December 2006.

Thai officials said they were shocked to learn that a senior Singapore official would be giving a private lunch to Thaksin following hot on the heels of the revoking of his diplomatic passport and the ill-feeling caused by the Shin Corp-Temasek deal.

"It shows Singapore's insensitivity to Thailand," said one of the sources.

The move is expected to set a precedent for other countries over how to handle Thaksin's visit and meeting in their respective country.

China was said to be "more than understanding" when informed about the revoking of Thaksin's diplomatic passport.

After his return from Cebu on Monday, Surayud hinted at yesterday's action, saying some diplomatic action might have to be taken in response to Thaksin's meeting with Jayakumar in Singapore.

At the Asean summit meeting in Cebu, Nitya informed his counterpart George Yeo about the revoking of Thaksin's diplomatic passport. Nitya was told that it was a private visit. Asean has a visa-free voluntary scheme for its citizens.

The indefinite suspension of the important summit retreat between the two leaders scheduled for later this year represents a low-point in Thai-Singapore relations. Both countries are key Asean members that have cooperated closely on issues related to economic integration and political deliberations.

This informal retreat has been the main forum for leaders of both countries to engage in a tete-a-tete on pivotal bilateral and regional issues. The fourth summit retreat was scheduled later this year in Singapore. The first was held in Phuket in 2003, the second in Sentosa Island 2004, and the latest summit was held in Chiang Mai in 2005.

Another important bilateral meeting, known as Thai-Singapore Civil Service Exchange Programme (CSEP) has also been suspended.

Singapore Foreign Minister Yeo was scheduled to fly in for the CSEP meeting in early February. This programme started in 1998 and was aimed at strengthening cooperation between the civil service sectors as part of the "strategic partnership" banner.

Thailand has provided airstrips for the Singaporean air force to train their combat jetfighters as well as other defence cooperation. The island also participates in the Cobra Gold military exercise, under the Thai-US military co-operation.

Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2005 amounted to nearly US$13 billion (Bt466 billion).