Thailand in Sino-US Rivalry at the Crossroads of the Thai Internal Conflict (original) (raw)

The political crisis in Thailand started in the final years of the Thaksin Shinawatra administration (2001-2006), which finally led to a military coup in September 2006. But it was not the last coup Thailand had experienced. In May 2014, the military staged another coup overthrowing the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra (2011-2014). Yingluck is sister of Thaksin. Months before, anti-government protesters took control of business districts in Bangkok while putting pressure on Yingluck who was attempting to pass an Amnesty Bill that could set her brother free from corruption charges. The protests paved the way for the military to once again intervene in politics and suggested that the army’s political interests seemed to align with those of the protesters. Currently, Thailand is under the custody of the military regime of Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, former army chief and leader of the coup makers. The enduring political crisis has effectively shaped the contour of the country’s foreign policy, especially in its relations with the great powers. The crisis has also provided a vital platform for these powers—in this case, the United States and China, to compete with each other in order to influence the behaviour and policy of Thailand at a time when the country has been experiencing political turbulence. It is however imperative to explain in a wider context the role of Washington and Beijing in Thailand’s protracted crisis and their competition for power and supremacy in Southeast Asia. Thailand continues to serve as a “strategic depot” for the two great powers to consolidate their sphere of influence in this part of the world. From this perspective, it can be argued that the Thai political situation has further intensified the level of competition between the United States and China, which has in turn readjusted the overall balance of power in Southeast Asia. This paper examines the different approaches of the United States and China in dealing with the Thai crisis. It asks: Which approach is more effective in the attempt to win the Thai influence? It investigates the way in which the competition between the two great powers has come to dominate Thailand’s foreign affairs. In the final section, the paper briefly discusses the standing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Thailand’s polarised politics and seeks to elucidate whether Thailand has been able to exploit its position in ASEAN to dilute the overwhelming power of the United States and China over its domestic and foreign affairs.