Don't cower before superpowers
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British PM David Cameron correctly told a US magazine that his predecessor Tony Blair "was too much the new friend telling you everything you want to hear, rather than the best friend telling you what you need to hear.
“We should always be conscious of the fact that we’re the junior partner in this [US-UK] relationship and America is a Pacific power as well as an Atlantic power,” Cameron said. “I think that we should deal with things as they are, rather than trying to be too needy.”
Perhaps Thai leaders and the Thai news media could think about possible parallels between Cameron’s wise words and various local views as Thailand prepares for next week’s visit by the head of the US.
Certainly, “dealing with things as they are” and “not trying to be too needy” would be good advice to anyone in any situation – and “not trying to be too needy” might also be called “independence”.
Guy Baker
Bangkok
