The Research Of The US-Thai Alliance: 1945-1975

After the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union from the allies to hostile relations, the international pattern has entered into the bipolar era which is dominated by the US and the Soviet Union, the Cold War broke out. In the face of a new international environment, the United States has changed its practice of not forging military alliance in peacetime and actively pursued the alliance strategy to contain the Soviet Union and its communist forces. With its strategic location and flexible diplomacy,Thailand became the "anti-communist bastion" of the United States in Southeast Asia. It is particularly critical for the formation and development for the US-Thai alliance in the period of 1945-1975. So, this paper mainly from the perspective of Thailand divided the US-Thai relationship which from 1945 to 1975 into four periods. They are the closing period, the formation period, the following period and the seeking independence period.The paper analyze the interaction between the two countries on the basis of the major historical events in the development of US-Thai relations, and to show the development of the relationship between the United States and Thailand in each period, thus revealing the characteristics of the development of US-Thai relations.The first part mainly analyzes the approaching process of the United States and Thailand after World War Ⅱ. After World War Ⅱ, why did Thailand abandon other Western powers and only choose the United States as its protectorate, and why did the United States among many Southeast Asian countries choose Thailand as their ally. In the early days of the US-Thai relations, missionaries, American advisers and so on contributed to the social development of Thailand; during World War II, the United States did not accept Thailand’s declaration of war and support Thailand’s "Free Thai"movement, which laid the historical and friendly foundation of the United States and Thailand. After World War II, on the one hand, facing the liquidation of Britain and France, the Thailand need to seek the support of the United States, and the United States gave Thailand major support and help in the process of restoring sovereignty and independence in the post-World War II, which also lay the friendly foundation of the two countries ; On the other hand, because of the political turmoil in Thailand, the leaders need to seek assistance from the Western powers which can provided political power to strengthen regime ,and facing the restless situation in Southeast Asia, the United States also realized that the stability of Thailand is important. The desire for US military aid has made Thailand further towards the America.The second part mainly discusses the formation process of the US-Thai alliance.The desire for military assistance from the United States has led to an increasingly resolute attitude towards anti-communism and a strong demonstration of its anti-communist determination on the policy of the Bao Dai regime and the Korean War.Thailand has thus established an imminent diplomacy towards the Western camp. In return, the United States also began to carry out military and economic assistance to Thailand. With the deterioration of the situation in Indochina, Thailand actively cooperate with the United States’ action in Indochina, the United States gradually recognized the importance of the Thailand in curbing communism in Southeast Asia. The United States and Thailand formed a formal alliance in 1954.The third part mainly describes the period that the Thailand was extensively associated with the United States. After the establishment of the US-Thai alliance, the Thai military government continued maintaining pro-US foreign policy, the friendship between United States and Thailand reached its peak. During the crisis in Laos, Thailand was disappointed with the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization. In order to regain confidence in Thailand, the United States reaffirmed its security assurances and obligations to Thailand. During the period of direct American involvement in the Vietnam War, Thailand fully supported the United States by providing military bases and sending troops to the South Vietnam. Thailand became the America’s most dedicated and effective assistant.The fourth part mainly discusses the development of the US-Thai alliance in the period from the introduction of Nixon Doctrine to the "Mayaguez" incident. With the recovery and development of Western European countries and Japan’s economies, the bipolar pattern headed by the United States and the Soviet Union began to develop towards multipolarization. In the face of changes in the international situation, the United States began to adjust its global strategy. The introduction of the Nixon Doctrine marks the contraction of the US global strategy. Thailand’s diplomacy also appears a new direction that is independent foreign policy. The main performance is the followings:establishing formal diplomatic relations with China in 1975, improving relations with Vietnam,Laos and other neighboring countries and so on. In the incident of "Mayaguez",the US military used the special relationship with the Thai military which was formed during the Vietnam War, ignoring the Thai government’s position, without the permission of the Thai government to use the bases, so that the relationship between the US and Thailand into a trough. In 1976 the US military completely withdrew from Thailand.Thailand began to rely on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to seek security,and the US-Thai alliance has taken a limited form of cooperation in the security issues.Finally, it analyzes the reasons why the relationship between the United States and Thailand has been well developed and the successful diplomacy model of Thailand as a small country. In the three decades of US-Thai relations, Thailand has always been pursuing the policy on the basis of national interest and taking advantage of the game between big countries to maximize the interests of their own country, which fully embodies the flexibility and pragmatism of the small country’s diplomacy. Changes in US-Thai relations are also accompanied with the changes of the America’s global strategy, so this period of the US-Thai alliance have a strong cold color.