Concerns over coup 'will only give China more room to woo Thailand'

Speaking at the discussion on “Eagle and the Elephant: US-Thai Relations 2015” hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, ex-foreign minister Kasit Piromya recalled the long-held cooperation between the countries, citing previous progress and development that at one point “eventually defeated communism”.

Relations, he continued, have both tangible process and yet some hiccups. Thailand now is being viewed quite negatively by the US and even obtained some soft sanction from the country, largely because of the military coup last year.

“Democratisation processes in Thailand for the past 83 years have been witnessed by friends ... [it should be noted that] rational democracy has been eroded by familial, parochial relationships. And that’s simply [a matter] of greed and craving,” Kasit said, possibly referring to how former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s network allegedly wielded financial influence over Thailand by using democracy discourse, and consequently caused political turmoil. 

That’s why domestic democracy must be re-addressed, Kasit said. “Thailand cannot do it alone. We need friends ... that’s what friendship is all about. Please move forward, Thai people never give up on democracy,” he concluded.

David Lyman, a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce and veteran officer of the US Navy, said: “My personal, and probably controversial, view is that the Thai military did the right thing. They shut out a [possible] civil war, and their rule made the economy stand still,” compared with a worsening situation if the military did nothing, Lyman said.

However, it is undeniable that the practice of coups is in contrast with the US pro-democracy foreign policy. Still, Lyman looked forward to continuing good relations between the countries.

Benjamin Zawacki, a former Amnesty International researcher, however, said that looking at the Thai situation in recent decades, especially within the past few years, it was really likely that Thailand was shifting towards China. “And China is about to replace the US [in this case]. And it is beyond the point of slowing down.”Zawacki cited the 1997 Asian financial crisis as one of the observable causes of Thailand’s shift from the US to China. 

“China is actually the first country that offered help worth million of dollars, while the US came to help in 1998, a year later,” said Zawacki, adding that this was possibly because some US companies benefited from the crisis.

 

He also noted that some concerns and soft sanctions from the West, including the US, would only give China more room to come towards Thailand.