Study On The Alliance Relationship Between Thailand And The United States In Thte Early21^st Century

Thailand and the United States alliance is characterized by military cooperationsince the day it was set. It has great influence on the whole Southeast Asia area. Theexistence of Thailand and the United States alliance plays a vital role in the maintenanceof the United States being in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, the twocountries play a huge role in the peace and stability of southeast Asia and in the leadingposition of Thailand in that area, because they have cooperation that benefits both ofthem, assistance programs, safety cooperation and the cooperation of expandingbilateral cooperation.In the early21stcentury great changes took place in the patterns of the internationalrelations, and the world’s political and economic center gradually shifted from the westto the east. Under such background, the alliance between Thailand and the United Stateswas no longer an indestructible iron plate. Cracks began to appear between them andthey gradually drifted apart. Ever since Obama came into power, the US governmentshifted its strategic center to the Asia-Pacific area under the guidance of the rebalancingof Asia pacific strategy. The relation between the United States got eased at one time;however, the difference between Thailand and the United States in political ideas led toa social culture with constant friction between the two countries. The debate aboutrenting U-Tapao Airport, the difference of anti-2014coup, the confrontation of TPPnegotiations, these are all the epitomes of Thailand and the United States contradictions.These contradictions led to a huge Anti-the US wave in Thailand. The relationshipbetween Thailand and the United States worsens.Apart from the contradictions and differences between that lead to their distance, inrecent years, the rapid development in China and ASEAN has become a weight ininfluencing Thailand and the United States relationship, especially china. China hasimpact on the United State’s influence on Thailand’s economy, politics, military and so on. Therefore, China is a role that cannot be neglected in the research of Thailand andthe United States relationship in the early21century.Despite the fact that the two countries have differences in political views andeconomic cooperation, the United States government puts pressure on the Thailandgovernment through sanctions is limited because of the up gradation of terrorism andthe need for cooperation against terrorism. Thailand and the United States cannot fullybreak off their military cooperation. It is necessary that Thailand and the United Statesalliance should exist. If Thailand returns back to the road of democracy, theirrelationship might be improved. Even in that case, their relation cannot be as good asbefore due to China’s increasing influence on Thailand.