Why Thailand is boosting ties with Russia and China

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BILATERAL RELATIONS
Why Thailand is boosting ties with Russia and China

(DW) Criticized by the West, Thailand's ruling junta seems to be turning eastward for political and economic support, as Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev's recent visit to the country shows, says analyst Zachary Abuza.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is on two-day visit to Thailand, the first by a Russian PM in 25 years aimed at boosting trade and tourism and strengthening bilateral ties. During the trip, which began on April 7, Medvedev and his Thai counterpart General Prayuth Chan-ocha have signed bilateral agreements to combat drug trafficking, increase investment and develop the Thai energy sector. The goal is to double bilateral trade to $10 billion by 2016.

Medvedev's trip comes just a week after Thailand's ruling military junta, known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), was criticized by the United Nations, rights groups and some Western countries for lifting martial law only to replace it with sweeping security powers for the military.

Thailand has been under the rule of a junta ever since a military coup last May. PM Prayuth, the man behind the coup, has argued that the military takeover was necessary to avoid further bloodshed following months of political turmoil in the country pitting anti-government demonstrators against supporters of the administration of former PM Yingluck Shinawatra.

In a DW interview, Zachary Abuza, an independent researcher on Southeast Asian security, talks about how the reluctance of some Western countries to do business with the military government is prompting Bangkok to look eastwards, and how both Russia and China are benefiting from this change in tack.

Full story: http://www.dw.de/why-thailand-is-boosting-ties-with-russia-and-china/a-18367018

-- DW 2015-04-09

[thesetat2013]

This action was a foregone conclusion. All through thai history the Thais never really took sides and always dealt with whoever they thought could benefit them the most in both economics and militarily. Now that the UN and USA have been so critical about the gov in Thailand it became easy to see who Thailand would turn to next. First China and with their close relations with Russia they were next. It would not surprise me if Cuba stepped forward as the next country to approach Thailand with offers to aide the economy and military. The USA and UN should have foreseen this as well and accepted instead of criticizing Thailand. Thailand is/was a place in Asia to have their presence felt. This is fading fast.

[DrTuner]

Sure, why not try communism while at it. Worked so well for those two.

[Stradavarius37]

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This action was a foregone conclusion. All through thai history the Thais never really took sides and always dealt with whoever they thought could benefit them the most in both economics and militarily. Now that the UN and USA have been so critical about the gov in Thailand it became easy to see who Thailand would turn to next. First China and with their close relations with Russia they were next. It would not surprise me if Cuba stepped forward as the next country to approach Thailand with offers to aide the economy and military. The USA and UN should have foreseen this as well and accepted instead of criticizing Thailand. Thailand is/was a place in Asia to have their presence felt. This is fading fast.

Cuba? That great military and economic powerhouse? Its bad to start smoking weed this early in the morning...

[FireMedic]

Didn't the Russian economy go to crap? I thought I just read that the Chinese economy was coming to a grinding halt....http://news.yahoo.com/video/sluggish-chinese-economy-111800940.html

[Muzarella]

Why? Because China is growing and becoming very powerful, even if the US propaganda is trying to not accept that, even if Western countries are doing everything its can to take advantage of rich China now. The same is happening with other Asian countries like Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia.

This alliances will be very positive for Thailand, specially after ASEAN implementation, but it is always the same problem....Politics.

Unfortunately, the US will do everything to sabotage these alliances, and started already offering everything to the Myanmar Government to become its "dependent". For the US Military is very important to have more bases in Asia, and Myanmar is very important to ASEAN and China economy.

If the US succeed in getting control of Myanmar, Thailand may get in trouble in the future, if not use a good diplomacy.

[huanga]

I guess the USA's "big brother" attitude is wearing thin on many countries these days! I'd love to see in the future, another super power to meddle with US's internal affairs and dictate to them how things are supposed to be! Karma can be a biatch when it boomerangs around!

[chooka]

Didn't the Russian economy go to crap? I thought I just read that the Chinese economy was coming to a grinding halt....http://news.yahoo.com/video/sluggish-chinese-economy-111800940.html

Desperate times call for desperate measures, when everyone else at school doesn't want to talk to you then you ask the others who have been shunned to play and hope and pray they say yes. Without these communist countries and dictatorships Thailand wouldn't have anyone to talk to at the moment.

[Robby nz]

The reasons should be obvious, these are the countries that in the future will be Thailand's major trading partners.

With the new Chinese sponsored world bank and the BRIC partnership coming on line the world fiscal landscape is changing and the almighty dollar will fade into the background.

Once the world is no longer forced to trade in US$ as the reserve currency and oil trading status is diminished and finally lost then the massive debt of the US will start to come home to roost.

The US has little to counter this quiet shift in world order even though they are doing their best at present to bring down Russia. This time they will not be able to use lame excuses and military might as they did against Saddam and Gaddafi when they attempted to sideline the dollar in their oil trade.

[NeverSure]

I guess the USA's "big brother" attitude is wearing thin on many countries these days! I'd love to see in the future, another super power to meddle with US's internal affairs and dictate to them how things are supposed to be! Karma can be a biatch when it boomerangs around!

This is the US, the UN, the EU and others. The US is Thailand's largest trading partner with the EU right there too. China and Russia are not only backwards, lacking in technology and having very poor people as GDP per capita, they are struggling to support themselves.

If Thailand is dumb enough to throw away the West and its biggest export buyers in favor of these backward countries, they can continue to have people in poverty by world standards just as China and Russia do.

Thailand might also be stuck with some third rate military hardware if it couldn't buy from NATO.

It hasn't been that long that China was threatening fishing rights in the S. China Sea and ownership of Islands in SE Asia. The US sailed a Nimitz class carrier group through the area to clear it.

I could go on, but the real problem is what's happening in Thailand and it isn't pretty.

[jerojero]

Because They are idiots. 'nuff said.

[Sydebolle]

Europe is dying a slow death, the US will realise that "the emperor's new clothes" is - after all - just a fairy tale and the UN's head office should be turned into a youth hostel for better use in a prime New York location.

Neither China nor Russia were bashing on Thailand. The Westerners have to learn that not everything goes/functions their way. While (sometimes too) many things don't function here/are fundamentally wrong it remains a fact, that Thailand is (sometimes mis-)run by the Thais and nobody can change that. The future will teach Thailand where it went wrong while Europe and the US is still not able to read the writing on their wall - regretfully!

[oneday]

This alliances will be very positive for Thailand...

Until the hammer drops from either country somewhere down the road.

[FangFerang]

China now has a form of social democracy -- farmers keep part of their land and grow and sell whatever they want. Russia is a prolonged cave-in.

The American bullying hemony of economic assasination and the politics of the gun is unsustainable.

Other countries have only a choice between evils.

[rijb]

The reasons should be obvious, these are the countries that in the future will be Thailand's major trading partners.

With the new Chinese sponsored world bank and the BRIC partnership coming on line the world fiscal landscape is changing and the almighty dollar will fade into the background.

Once the world is no longer forced to trade in US$ as the reserve currency and oil trading status is diminished and finally lost then the massive debt of the US will start to come home to roost.

The US has little to counter this quiet shift in world order even though they are doing their best at present to bring down Russia. This time they will not be able to use lame excuses and military might as they did against Saddam and Gaddafi when they attempted to sideline the dollar in their oil trade.

Yes, yes, you sound like a broken record ... death to America!

[zydeco]

The reasons should be obvious, these are the countries that in the future will be Thailand's major trading partners.

With the new Chinese sponsored world bank and the BRIC partnership coming on line the world fiscal landscape is changing and the almighty dollar will fade into the background.

Once the world is no longer forced to trade in US$ as the reserve currency and oil trading status is diminished and finally lost then the massive debt of the US will start to come home to roost.

The US has little to counter this quiet shift in world order even though they are doing their best at present to bring down Russia. This time they will not be able to use lame excuses and military might as they did against Saddam and Gaddafi when they attempted to sideline the dollar in their oil trade.

Where is this "BRIC partnership" headquartered? Does it have an office? An organizational structure? Who do I send an email to? Who is its secretary-general or president?

[NeverSure]

Neither China nor Russia were bashing on Thailand.

Of course not. They are backward countries grasping at straws. It is Japan, Europe, Canada, Australia and the US who have shown deep displeasure at the junta.

Russia and China don't have auto and scooter and smart phone and CPU manufacturing in Thailand. They don't have big investments in Thailand. They won't either because they already have cheap labor and poor people. Russia just offered some kind of relationship with Greece, but no money. Russia and China will befriend a loser any day.

Just remember that the major manufacturing which so highly involves Thai exports belongs to the West. Think of what would happen to Thailand if it got nervous and moved elsewhere.

It appears that Thailand can't even run airlines when someone else provides the planes and parts and training. Chinese and Russian airlines fly almost all Boeing and Airbus planes except a small short haul plane that Russia has built in small numbers. There are a few smaller Brazilian planes mixed in. Where would Thailand get airplanes if not the West?

Where's it going to get decent military hardware?

I could go on but....

Cheers

Edited April 9, 2015 by NeverSure

[EnglishJohn]

TIT. They will throw money towards Russia and China then make a U-turn later when they realise they made a mistake and the West start dangling carrots.

Thai officials are worlds beaters at making ill-judged decisions then changing course without a shred of embarrassment at what fools they have made of themselves - while throwing untold amounts of taxpayers money down the drain.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. All countries do it. The US had to open their big hypocritical mouth about Thailand's affairs (yet it is ok for the US to topple Gov and set up dummy regimes and even back dictators that slaughter their own people when it benefits them).

Now the US will end u spending billions trying to woo the Thai's back. Good play by Thailand I say. If the super powers want to fight over you then let them all drop some cash off for you. The girls do it, let the Gov do it too.

[Strangebrew]

Shades of Ukraine and China sea comes to mind. In Russia we have good tanks but bad tank drivers to much wadka commrade

[Srikcir]

How ironic that some OP's seem to blame democracy for the Junta turning to Russia and China.You know, democracy where there is freedom of expression no matter how sweet or sour it may be. Yes, the Western, Asian and Pacific democracies are all responsible to tell the Junta what they THINK about the Junta stealing the rights and liberties of the Thai people. If OP's think that was inappropriate, they should consider self-censoring their own criticisms.

Were any economic sanctions imposed? No.

Was foreign imports of Thai products stopped? No.

Was there a show of military force to cower the Junta? No.

Were there UN condemnations against the Junta? No.

Was any diplomatic actions taken against the Junta leadership? No, except for Australia.

The US did suspend military aid as per a plainly written law that the Junta would have fully known. Surely the Junta can appreciate a government obeying the law.

But if the Junta wants to ISOLATE itself from democracies with a roadmap that only leads to its continued suppression of the Thai people's soverneignty, then it will INVITE reprissals from democratic countries. The Junta will cry, "They don't understand." But it's the Junta that doesn't understand those nation's respect and honor for people's inalienable rights and liberties.

[wabothai]

May be a reminder of the 2nd WW would add some salt.

[Just1Voice]

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. All countries do it. The US had to open their big hypocritical mouth about Thailand's affairs (yet it is ok for the US to topple Gov and set up dummy regimes and even back dictators that slaughter their own people when it benefits them).

Now the US will end u spending billions trying to woo the Thai's back. Good play by Thailand I say. If the super powers want to fight over you then let them all drop some cash off for you. The girls do it, let the Gov do it too.

"Now the US will end u spending billions trying to woo the Thai's back."

Nice fantasy, but no where near reality. Vietnam and Myanmar, and even the Philippines, are very quickly becoming the places for the US to place their interests. Toyota (Japan) is opening a new factory in Vietnam, and will eventually shut down the ones in Thailand, especially with Thailand wanting to raise the minimum wage here next year. And if Thailand get too buddy-buddy with China and Russia, the US and EU will simply start to impose trade sanctions on Thai products, which will begin to cripple the Thai economy. Remember, the US is Thailand's largest importer. What happens to the Thai economy if the US decides to shut that down, or even curtail it by 50%? Thailand economy crashes. China's not going to take up the slack, they have their own cheap labor force to take care of them, and Russia is in near economic melt down now, so they can't help.

But keep living in your fantasy world if it makes you feel better. Never mind the realities of global economy.

[Barin]

The reasons should be obvious, these are the countries that in the future will be Thailand's major trading partners.

With the new Chinese sponsored world bank and the BRIC partnership coming on line the world fiscal landscape is changing and the almighty dollar will fade into the background.

Once the world is no longer forced to trade in US$ as the reserve currency and oil trading status is diminished and finally lost then the massive debt of the US will start to come home to roost.

The US has little to counter this quiet shift in world order even though they are doing their best at present to bring down Russia. This time they will not be able to use lame excuses and military might as they did against Saddam and Gaddafi when they attempted to sideline the dollar in their oil trade.

Where is this "BRIC partnership" headquartered? Does it have an office? An organizational structure? Who do I send an email to? Who is its secretary-general or president?

Quote

The term "BRICS" was coined in 2001 by then-chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Jim O'Neill, in his publication Building Better Global Economic BRICs.^[

As of 2014, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, or approximately 40% of the world population. The five nations have a combined nominal GDP of US$16.039 trillion, equivalent to approximately 20% of the gross world product, and an estimated US$4 trillion in combined foreign reserves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRICS

[h90]

Didn't the Russian economy go to crap? I thought I just read that the Chinese economy was coming to a grinding halt....http://news.yahoo.com/video/sluggish-chinese-economy-111800940.html

That is only wishful thinking....Russian economy isn't doing well, but a couple of European economies do worse and no one is writing they are going to crap. .

Chinese economy: It is the question if they do a 5% or a 8% economic grow, I wouldn't call that grinding halt....

[Strangebrew]

Sitting thinking back to 2004 When Thailand needed help who rushed in to help? Which country opened there hearts and there wallets pouring in millions of US dollars supplies man power, search and rescue animals, Doctors, Nurses, Water, food, Planes, ships and god knows what else Yet did anyone hear them ask for repayment? And who ran the operation or was in Control? If memory serves me I believe Thailand was. In the months and years after aid still came and help was offered in rebuilding. It was there if you needed it and if the same were to happen again today God forbid, The US would be first in line with the needed help no questions asked, With political differences put aside. Now the question you have to ask yourself is simple Can you without a doubt say the same for those your getting close to now? What separates American's from the rest is our compassion for fellow man. Our politician's aren't America it's our people who is America. Said my peace rest is up to you.

[bruceybonus]

I guess the USA's "big brother" attitude is wearing thin on many countries these days! I'd love to see in the future, another super power to meddle with US's internal affairs and dictate to them how things are supposed to be! Karma can be a biatch when it boomerangs around!

This is the US, the UN, the EU and others. The US is Thailand's largest trading partner with the EU right there too. China and Russia are not only backwards, lacking in technology and having very poor people as GDP per capita, they are struggling to support themselves.

If Thailand is dumb enough to throw away the West and its biggest export buyers in favor of these backward countries, they can continue to have people in poverty by world standards just as China and Russia do.

Thailand might also be stuck with some third rate military hardware if it couldn't buy from NATO.

It hasn't been that long that China was threatening fishing rights in the S. China Sea and ownership of Islands in SE Asia. The US sailed a Nimitz class carrier group through the area to clear it.

I could go on, but the real problem is what's happening in Thailand and it isn't pretty.

Exactly! What does Thailand sell to China/Russia of any note, compared to US/EU?

[h90]

I guess the USA's "big brother" attitude is wearing thin on many countries these days! I'd love to see in the future, another super power to meddle with US's internal affairs and dictate to them how things are supposed to be! Karma can be a biatch when it boomerangs around!

This is the US, the UN, the EU and others. The US is Thailand's largest trading partner with the EU right there too. China and Russia are not only backwards, lacking in technology and having very poor people as GDP per capita, they are struggling to support themselves.

If Thailand is dumb enough to throw away the West and its biggest export buyers in favor of these backward countries, they can continue to have people in poverty by world standards just as China and Russia do.

Thailand might also be stuck with some third rate military hardware if it couldn't buy from NATO.

It hasn't been that long that China was threatening fishing rights in the S. China Sea and ownership of Islands in SE Asia. The US sailed a Nimitz class carrier group through the area to clear it.

I could go on, but the real problem is what's happening in Thailand and it isn't pretty.

Russian military equipment is equal to what NATO has. AND for the price of some outdated second hand NATO things you can buy some new Russian or Chinese equipment. So at the end Thailand can get a second rate military equipment from them for the price of a third rate equipment from NATO. (They won't be able to get the first class things.....)

[car720]

Didn't the Russian economy go to crap? I thought I just read that the Chinese economy was coming to a grinding halt....http://news.yahoo.com/video/sluggish-chinese-economy-111800940.html

Desperate times call for desperate measures, when everyone else at school doesn't want to talk to you then you ask the others who have been shunned to play and hope and pray they say yes. Without these communist countries and dictatorships Thailand wouldn't have anyone to talk to at the moment.

and wouldn't have a pot to pee in either.

[car720]

Sitting thinking back to 2004 When Thailand needed help who rushed in to help? Which country opened there hearts and there wallets pouring in millions of US dollars supplies man power, search and rescue animals, Doctors, Nurses, Water, food, Planes, ships and god knows what else Yet did anyone hear them ask for repayment? And who ran the operation or was in Control? If memory serves me I believe Thailand was. In the months and years after aid still came and help was offered in rebuilding. It was there if you needed it and if the same were to happen again today God forbid, The US would be first in line with the needed help no questions asked, With political differences put aside. Now the question you have to ask yourself is simple Can you without a doubt say the same for those your getting close to now? What separates American's from the rest is our compassion for fellow man. Our politician's aren't America it's our people who is America. Said my peace rest is up to you.

Unfortunately, the Thais are not big on honour nor integrity.

One only has to ask just what Thailand really is famous for?