U.S. says supports Thailand's relationship with China
BANGKOK | BY AMY SAWITTA LEFEVRE

BANGKOK: -- The U.S. Ambassador to Thailand said on Monday that the United States supports Thailand's relationship with China, countering suggestions that Thailand has turned to Beijing amid a chill in ties between Bangkok and Washington.

Ambassador Glyn Davies's comments follow those by the Thai junta last week that it was not distancing itself from the United States despite blossoming military and political ties between Bangkok and Beijing since a 2014 coup.

Last week, Thailand's air force joined military exercises with China's air force at a military base northeast of Bangkok aimed at increasing "mutual trust and friendship".

Full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/thailand-usa-china-idUSL3N13P1OS20151130


-- Reuters 2015-11-30

So Glyn Davies is now trying to be diplomatic after his misspoken comments the other day.

misspoken ??

He said exactly what he was instructed to say by his government. Is there something about that you do not understand?.... The fact that a self proclaimed "ultra royalist" monk and 200 of his supporters do not like it is meaningless..

This is nothing more than last weekends tempest in a teacup

If you look to Thailand past you will see that they do not side themselves with just one superpower. They like to ride the middle and play host to all to get advantages from all sides.

misspoken ??

He said exactly what he was instructed to say by his government. Is there something about that you do not understand?.... The fact that a self proclaimed "ultra royalist" monk and 200 of his supporters do not like it is meaningless..

This is nothing more than last weekends tempest in a teacup

There's a lot more than 201 that don't like it.

It is not the relationship that is the problem , it is how much info do the Allies share with Thailand and on maneuvers how much do you give away of new restricted equipment , Thailand will place itself in an untenable position if the proverbial hits the fan over the Spratlys and those man made islands of china ,what happens then , the US and it's allies are up there 24/7 giving the Chinese sh!!t , by encroaching over their supposed boundaries , and what is a Democrat elected Government to do , this Junta for a caretaker Government that's only charter is to rewrite the constitution , seems to be taking on more than what can be called exceptable.................... .

So Glyn Davies is now trying to be diplomatic after his misspoken comments the other day.

I think he said exactly what he meant to say.

And as for him opposing China and Thailand get together. If he said he opposed it, that would make the very childish Thais run off and get even closer to them.

The psychology of this statement is incredibly simple. Just like Thai foreign policy.

If you look to Thailand past you will see that they do not side themselves with just one superpower. They like to ride the middle and play host to all to get advantages from all sides.

Which 2nd superpower has Thailand ever cosied upto? They like to think they can win these duels by playing one off against another.

At least that's what they think. Of course, ask a Thai how much land Thailand actually ceded over the years and no one admits to anything...

When lying you shouldn't be complete stupid.

They are not supporting it, they can't do anything against it. Telling they aren't against it would be believable....support is not. Next time Thailand don't let the US spy airplanes explore the "weather" over disputed Chinese areas the wording will be very different.

Ah-huh. Right...

Is this somewhat akin to "Tom" laying out the red carpet for "Jerry" as old "Jerry" saunters into the mousetrap savouring the plush deep pile of the carpet beneath his feet ?

So Glyn Davies is now trying to be diplomatic after his misspoken comments the other day.

So are you saying he didn't speak the truth?...............

I think he said what needs to have been said.

If you look to Thailand past you will see that they do not side themselves with just one superpower. They like to ride the middle and play host to all to get advantages from all sides.

Yeah well this time they have ****** up, because playing this game with china is like supping with the devil, it always goes against you. Especially when you neglect to use your long spoons.

Edited November 30, 201510 yr by Bluespunk

If you look to Thailand past you will see that they do not side themselves with just one superpower. They like to ride the middle and play host to all to get advantages from all sides.

Yeah well this time they have ****** up, because playing this game with china is like supping with the devil, it always goes against you. Especially when you neglect to use your long spoons.

Or in this case, perhaps longer chopsticks?

So Glyn Davies is now trying to be diplomatic after his misspoken comments the other day.

"So Glyn Davies is now trying to be diplomatic............."

"Glyn Townsend Davies is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service.

His diplomatic career began in 1980." Wiki.

So, I suppose he was just doing his job?

If you look to Thailand past you will see that they do not side themselves with just one superpower. They like to ride the middle and play host to all to get advantages from all sides.

I think the same can be said about many Thai women. :-)

Seriously though, Thailand is like that hot girl in high school who everyone wanted to be with. But now she's 40, packed on 50 lbs, and has 3 kids. Yet she still thinks she's that girl from high school.

The US ambassador's statements were like asking her boyfriend from twenty years ago what he thinks about her dating some new guy.

Thailand has sort of maxed out in terms of usefulness. The only relationship that China is interested in with Thailand will surely be exploitive and abusive.

Edited November 30, 201510 yr by digibum

If you look to Thailand past you will see that they do not side themselves with just one superpower. They like to ride the middle and play host to all to get advantages from all sides.

Somewhat like the Americans you mean?

You mean like every country?

The big difference here is Thailand is not acting out of a position of political savvy.

Thailand is courting China in the hopes the US, EU, etc will come swarming back and try to bribe Thailand into staying loyal. The only problem is, the US DGAF.

Those China statements were made either the same day or the next after the US ambassador was talking about TPP and Thailand. He claimed that the US would welcome Thailand into the trade pact as long as they met all of the conditions and Thailand would not see normalization of relations until a democratically elected government was in power.

Davies said:

“If they are interested, all they have to do is pick up the phone and knock on the door. We are ready to talk about it.”

He also stressed that Thailand had to meet all of the requirements of the agreement which also means pulling itself out of the bottom third of countries in terms of human rights and human trafficking.

You roll back the clock 20 or 30 years and the US would have been stumbling all over itself to find loopholes for Thailand. Nowadays, the attitude is like, "Hey, you're free to apply but don't expect any special treatment."

Thailand would be much better off trying to rise up to US/international standards than showing a little leg to China in the hopes that everyone will lower their standards to keep China out.

Many if not most of Thailand's major exports can be sourced elsewhere. Labor is no longer cheap and Thailand barely has a skilled labor market anymore.

Thailand's strategic value diminishes by the year but Thailand ignores that and keeps demanding that the world accept "Thainess" while there are many other countries who can supply the same goods and services Thailand's economy is based on and don't mind learning English or who are willing to be friendly to foreign businesses that enrich the local economies.

Davies' comments brings to mind a couple quotes:

“Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.” - Isaac Newton

“Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes.” - Harry S. Truman

“Diplomacy is the art of telling people to go to hell in such a way that they ask for directions.” - Winston S. Churchill

In 2014 the USA was China's top import trading partner. After the USA, China is Vietnam's largest import trading partner. So go to it Thailand. But a pragmatic foreign policy doesn't preclude criticism and even measured retributions when appropriate.

To the contrary, the Prayut regime seems to operate a foreign policy that is an "all or nothing" approach. Either you're with the junta regime or you're against it. Such an approach not only borders on diplomatic immaturity but on a militaristic "win or lose" attitude to conflict resolution.

misspoken ??

He said exactly what he was instructed to say by his government. Is there something about that you do not understand?.... The fact that a self proclaimed "ultra royalist" monk and 200 of his supporters do not like it is meaningless..

This is nothing more than last weekends tempest in a teacup

Good points. What that insane, driven, ambitious, power hungry monk is missing, is that he is denying his spiritual duties with all of these distractions. It is quite possible that by focusing only on outer work, he is making a grand effort to avoid doing any inner work.

Good thing the ambassador made these points. And I think it is ok for him to be occasionally outspoken, though that would be better said in private, than in the media, one would think.

Happy, as a US taxpayer, to hear this as I believe the US is tired of this

ANCHOR around it's neck !

You look at the faces of a lot of politician's and big wigs on TV here in Thailand and until they speak you have to check to see if it's channel one or CCTV!

misspoken ??

He said exactly what he was instructed to say by his government. Is there something about that you do not understand?.... The fact that a self proclaimed "ultra royalist" monk and 200 of his supporters do not like it is meaningless..

This is nothing more than last weekends tempest in a teacup

From the Nation:

" The envoy said he had a photo of His Majesty the King and late Elvis Presley on the wall at his residence."

very diplomatic.

misspoken ??

He said exactly what he was instructed to say by his government. Is there something about that you do not understand?.... The fact that a self proclaimed "ultra royalist" monk and 200 of his supporters do not like it is meaningless..

This is nothing more than last weekends tempest in a teacup

Exactly.Frankly it's not worth responding to the geniuses who blather on about Ambassadors misspeaking.They have no idea of how diplomacy works or what an Ambassador is supposed to do.

An Ambassador has very limited personal authority especially in these days of instant communication.If there is a criticism of US policy towards Thailand it should be addressed to the State Department or the POTUS.

"...The U.S. Ambassador to Thailand said on Monday that the United States supports Thailand's relationship with China..."

According to who? Where is the direct quote from the US ambassador? I'm sure what he actually said meant something completely different than how it is being presented here.

So Glyn Davies is now trying to be diplomatic after his misspoken comments the other day.

Glyn Davies is just a mouthpiece for the US govt. What he said was true although I'd have put it a lot less diplomatically.