C. THAILAND IN REGIONAL SECURITY
1. Thai Perspective
Thailand, like many of the small-medium size states in the region, has no interest in big power politics. It has a friendly and flexible foreign policy and tries to remain neutral although it has provided the Americans with airforce base facilities during part of the Vietnam War. To Thailand, the most important security issues were with its immediate neighbors. The earlier problem of communist insurgency has basically been eradicated after their leaders surrendered and after China stopped supporting such insurgent groups in the region.
2. Thai Maritime/Military Strategy, or the Lack of It
Thai strategy has been defensive and reactive. There is very little Thai can do about big power rivalries in the region. So, they tried to play it out to the best of their benefit. They do not welcome the rise of new military powers in the region, be it China or Japan. For this reason, they welcome the continual presence of the US in the region to maintain the existing balance of power.
For the Thai military, the real competition is with its neighbors such as Malaysia and Vietnam. Even in this respect, its strategy is defensive and reactive. This is one of the reasons for it to scrap its plan to acquire submarine which it sees as offensive. During the economic bloom, Thai joined its neighbors in acquiring the latest military hardware in order to "keep up" with them. It was in such a buying spree when it purchased the aircraft carrier which has never really been in use.
Because of the nature of their duty, the Thai military has their own system and does not engage in many exchanges with other sectors of the society or their foreign counterparts. The closest tie they may have is with the US through training and exchange programmes.
