Abstract
Since China and Thailand normalized their diplomatic relations in 1975, relations between the two countries have improved significantly. To some extent, Thailand now boasts the closest ties with China of any country in the Association of South East Asian Nations. Relations between China and Thailand have remained broadly healthy because of a number of underlying factors, such as geographical location, historical cooperative experiences, economic chances brought by China’s rapid development, close ethnic ties and shared security and developmental concerns. The close strategic relationship with China did not replace Thai’s position as a treaty ally of the U.S. Bangkok is keen to maintain its alliance with the United States. Even with the closure of U.S. bases in Thailand, the alliance was not terminated. Rather, the alliance continues to be marked by joint military exercises, intelligence cooperation, and occasional Thai contributions to U.S. military campaigns overseas. Thai’s strategies to pursue a more balanced policy toward both China and the U.S. have great implication to the transformation of regional order. Sino-Thai expanding relations act as a prove reflecting the relative success of engagement and accommodation between China and the region. The fact that China is embedded in Southeast Asia has created new rules and a new regional environment for the region. Meanwhile, Thailand explicitly expresses its desire to manage its relationship with the United States in a way that facilitates closer ties with China. As a result, Thailand possesses the relative enriched channels of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy in economics, politics and security within the triangular relations between China, United States and Southeast Asia, which increases the predictability of regional stability and the transformation of order.
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