| Thailand's foreign policy toward the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the post-Cold War era is a policy of accommodation. Without the presence of another military power in the sub-region and owing to geographic reality, China has emerged as the dominant strategic power in mainland Southeast Asia in the post-Cold War, wielding considerable power over smaller neighbors on its southern periphery, including Thailand. Living under the shadow of China, Thailand has no choice but to accommodate Chinese interest and to avoid unnecessary conflicts.; Yet while accommodating China, Thailand also has developed extensive cooperation with other great powers of the region, the United States and Japan. In order to prevent the country from being too dependent on and too vulnerable to China, Thailand uses the U.S. and Japan to balance Chinese power.; This is to say that Thailand realized the Chinese authority in its vicinity and tailored its China policy accordingly. Due to the vulnerability to Chinese power, Thailand has to accommodate its northern neighbor's interests in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts. But by cooperating with the U.S. and Japan, Thailand wants to use the ties with other two great powers of the region to balance Chinese power. This is to ensure its interest and to satisfy its various interests. |
