Does US pressure really risk driving Thailand into China’s arms?

[CrazyExpat]

The unusually strident criticism of Thailand’s military regime by the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Russel, during his visit to the country last month drew a strong reaction. Junta leader Prayut Chan-Ocha said publicly that he was “upset” by the comments. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the US chargé d’affaires, W. Patrick Murphy, to express its displeasure.

Users of Thailand’s conservative social media are incensed by what they see as American meddling in domestic affairs and “lack of understanding” of the country. One prominent “yellow shirt” activist has accused the US of deliberately fuelling anti-American sentiment as a pretext to invade the country to protect its interests.

What does this reaction say about US-Thai relations? The US is clearly concerned about democracy and human rights in Thailand since the May 2014 coup. It is trying to play a careful game of not appearing to interfere in Thailand’s internal affairs, but at the same time sending a strong message to the military leadership that the current situation is unacceptable.

In this years’s Cobra Gold annual joint military exercises, the largest such exercise involving the US in Asia, the US has pointedly reduced its level of participation. In his speech at the opening ceremony last week, Murphy explicitly mentioned the reason for downgrading US participation.

 

http://theconversation.com/does-us-pressure-really-risk-driving-thailand-into-chinas-arms-37335