US-China Bridge

Bangkok, Thailand has just successfully organized an extraordinary meeting between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Experts say this is an affirmation of the position of Thailand in particular and ASEAN in general in an independent foreign policy.

Chinese tourists visit the Grand Palace in Thailand in 2023. Photo: BANGKOK POST

The rivalry between the two superpowers, the US and China, has intensified in recent years in economic, security and military terms. According to Benjamin Zawacki, author of Thailand: Shifting Ground Between the US and Rising China, the meeting illustrates how both Washington and Beijing view Thailand’s role.

During their meeting in Thailand, Sullivan and Wang discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including Iran, clashes around the Red Sea, security in the Taiwan Strait, Myanmar, North Korea and the situation in the South China Sea. Both pledged to stay in touch on sensitive topics. Further talks are planned. President Joe Biden is expected to speak by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the spring, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Beijing in the coming months.

For Thai officials, in addition to the outcome of the meeting, this can be considered a great geopolitical victory and a reaffirmation of the policy of not taking sides of Thailand in particular and ASEAN in general according to the principle of being a friend of all countries, an enemy of no one. For the new Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin personally, the presence of a high-ranking US official in Bangkok can be seen as a warming up of relations between Washington and Bangkok after a long period of relative coldness. Before Mr. Srettha Thavisin was elected Prime Minister, Washington reduced security cooperation and withdrew millions of dollars in military aid to Thailand. After Mr Srettha became prime minister, relations improved enough to allow the Thai prime minister to meet briefly with US President Biden at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2023. Before the Bangkok talks with Mr Wang, Mr Sullivan met with the host prime minister and several members of Mr Srettha’s cabinet.

Like many other ASEAN members, Thailand now enjoys good relations with both the US and China. China is Thailand’s largest trading partner, with trade to reach $135 billion by 2023. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese nationals accounted for about 11 million of the record 39 million international visitors to Thailand in 2019. During a visit to Bangkok, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Thai counterpart Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara signed a visa-free agreement to make it easier for Thai and Chinese citizens to travel to each other’s country.

According to analysts, over the years, countries in the region have witnessed the deteriorating relationship between the two most powerful countries in the world with considerable concern. For ASEAN, it is better when the US-China competition is healthy. Therefore, the above meeting and many upcoming US-China summits give Southeast Asia hope that the two superpowers will continue to dialogue instead of confront each other.

KHANH MINH

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