Thai editorial: The risks of getting too close to China

[benalibina]

Get in bed with crocodiles and see what happens.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Premier Sinzo Abe have their own agendas for the Apec summit. Moscow has become closer to Beijing in a rebalancing act to counter Western influence, notably over the Ukraine crisis, while Tokyo is attempting to fine-tune the geo-politic balance in the region as it defends its position on disputed territory in the East China Sea."

The US doesn't have protectionist import duties. It should slam both China and Thailand with duties exactly the same as what they charge. That would make US manufacturing more than competitive with cheap Asian labor and bring jobs to the US. China and Thailand would stumble badly.

I first heard how badly the US is getting screwed in this from Donald Trump who was on a talk show perhaps a year ago. Why send money to people who are constantly causing trouble?

yes I agree getting close to the USA crocodile is not good for any country

When has the US gobbled up a country's resources like China does? The US didn't even take Iraq's oil, even though some still accuse it of "being about oil."

After WWII the US helped Japan rebuild its manufacturing base and took no spoils of war. Thailand declared war against the US in WWII and then England and the US liberated it from the Japanese and took nothing.

China is a crocodile which is in dispute with Japan over islands and several countries over fishing rights in the sea. The US ran China off very recently when it tried to claim fishing rights in the South China Sea which would have hurt Thailand and other SE Asian countries.

Please study your history.

If it was not about oil...hmmm...about what then ?

[kimamey]

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I haven't got the time to read all this report but this part makes me doubt it's accuracy.

Moscow has become closer to Beijing in a rebalancing act to counter Western influence, notably over the Ukraine crisis,

As far as I know China has been anything but supportive of Moscow over the issue of Ukraine despite it's normal close ties with Russia. The idea of parts of a country deciding to hold it's own polls to decide to create their own states and allegiances isn't going to be popular with China on many fronts, the most obvious being Tibet.

I think it's not tiny, undeveloped Tibet but the populous Muslim dominated Xinjiang Province and westernized Hong Kong that China is concerned about. In many ways the Xinjuang Province is similar to Thailand's Muslim dominated South in terms of cultural suppression. China has shown itself to successively resist changing its internal management of the country as it engages in foreigner trade agreements. As an example China is not a political fan of its greatest trade partner the USA. Why would it be with Russia?

I was using Tibet as an obvious example since it's well known and is a defined area already but as you point out there are other examples. Any form of separation in one will encourage another. Relations between countries are always complex and Thailand should be aware of that and the wider effects of any links with other nations, particularly China.