Sino-Thai Relations:The Case Of Thailand’s Position On South China Sea Dispute

Thailand and China have a historical relationship that dated from the ancient time.The relationship of two countries began more than 2,000 years agoduring the Han Dynasty era.The different political ideology in different periods of time led the Thai government to make a different decision on foreign policy towards China.However,with the efforts from the two sides,Thailand and China have finally establishedformal diplomatic relationship in 1975.China and Thailand have had a long and mostly fertile relationship.The relationship has many elements to it,including the personal,the military,economic,political and diplomatic features.From 2012 to 2015,Thailand had taken the role of a country coordinator in the ASEAN-China relations.Thailand is a non-claimant and did not have any disputes with any parties in the South China Sea.This is contrary to the cases ofother ASEAN nations at the time.Hence,Thailand’s position is deemed as an effectively neutral intermediary.The characteristics of Thai diplomacy are ―flexibility‖ and ―implementation‖that aim to balance power from major powercountries to insure its survival.In this thesis,the author seeks to explain the relationship between Thailand and China.The thesis willdescribe and explainThailand‘s position in the South China Sea dispute based on the realist theory.