February 08, 2017
Rekindle the US-Thailand Relationship
America risks losing its oldest friend in the Asia-Pacific to China
Buried beneath the new confusion of what an “America First” foreign policy looks like in the Asia-Pacific, America’s oldest diplomatic partnership in Asia seems to be edging toward Duterte-esque deterioration. Thailand, a treaty ally of the United States and host for the upcoming “Cobra Gold” exercise, was once the model for U.S. engagement in Asia. The two countries have fought shoulder-to-shoulder in every major conflict since World War II, and even redefined their partnership to meet modern global challenges like terrorism and transnational crime.
Yet, since the 2014 military coup, the United States has withheld military aid and high-level engagement, unwilling to resume them until a democratically elected government is restored. As in the Philippines, China has been more than happy to fill this void with their own aid, steadily prying Thailand away from the U.S.-led alliance system. The United States can ill-afford to lose another partner in the region. It is imperative that the United States adopt a more pragmatic approach and prioritize security and economic engagement with Thailand before this alliance, too, begins to fray.
The United States has a chance every year to improve its security relationship with Thailand through Cobra Gold. This exercise, hosted by Thailand, brings together participants from 29 countries who work together in coordinating military, logistical, and humanitarian operations. More importantly, this drill demonstrates the readiness and resolve of the United States to work with its partners in the Asia-Pacific to respond to any disaster, be they natural or manmade. However, U.S. troop participation levels have fallen for three years in a row, numbering 3,500, one-third of its peak of 9,500.
Read the full article at The Diplomat.
More from CNAS
-
Video
Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
America’s New Plan to Defeat China in the AI Race | Trump | Xi JinpingIn an exclusive HT Podcast video interview, Vivek Chilukuri of the Center for a New American Security gives insight into the rapidly evolving global race for artificial intell...
By Vivek Chilukuri
-
Commentary
Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
What It Takes to Stop the Next Salt TyphoonThis article was originally published on Just Security.Nearly a year after U.S. agencies identified one of the most severe cyber breaches of U.S. telecommunications companies,...
By Morgan Peirce
-
Global Swing States and the New Great Power Competition
Commentary
The United States should prioritize these six countries in their foreign policy, encouraging swing state governments to choose policies that reflect the core principles of int...
By Richard Fontaine & Gibbs McKinley
-
The Pentagon’s AUKUS Review is an Opportunity — If Done Right
Commentary
The reality is that U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and Taiwan has starkly highlighted for policymakers the real limits of the U.S. industrial base to meet demand across a...
By Jennifer Hendrixson White
