Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?

The article analyses and contrasts Japan-Thailand and US-Thailand relations. It attempts to prove a thesis that the Japanese leadership formulates the policy towards Thailand in its own way, without regard for its key ally, namely the US. This problem tends to be of high relevance, since currently T...

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Main Author: Kokarev K.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia (ICCA RAS) 2025-06-01
Series:Восточная Азия: факты и аналитика
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eastasiajournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2025/ea_2025_2_75-89.pdf
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author Kokarev K.A.
author_facet Kokarev K.A.
author_sort Kokarev K.A.
collection DOAJ
description The article analyses and contrasts Japan-Thailand and US-Thailand relations. It attempts to prove a thesis that the Japanese leadership formulates the policy towards Thailand in its own way, without regard for its key ally, namely the US. This problem tends to be of high relevance, since currently Thailand is attempting to cautiously maneuver between the PRC and the so-called “collective West”. The author insists that, although Japan's and the US approaches towards the Southeast Asia countries have never substantially contradicted each other (due to the previously existing bipolar system and China's currently increasing presence in the region), they imply different methods of influencing other countries, including Thailand. It is characteristic of the US to practice military-political cooperation, while Japan rather resorts to economic cooperation. Furthermore, Japan and the US, due to the confrontation during the Second World war, had different starting points for modern relations with Thailand. In order to showcase that bilateral dialogues have evolved independently, the author examines Japan's and the US main driving forces when building relations with Thailand in a chronological order, from the Second World war onwards. The author concludes that Japan's key interest in Thailand is economy, while the US has consistently prioritised human rights, which laid the foundation for the US to criticise the military coups of 2006 and 2014 in a harsher way.
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publisher Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia (ICCA RAS)
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spelling doaj-art-5cabb128d5c94b7093551065ff09e4ba2025-08-20T02:45:18ZengRussian Academy of Sciences, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia (ICCA RAS)Восточная Азия: факты и аналитика2686-77022025-06-0172758910.24412/2686-7702-2025-2-75-89Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?Kokarev K.A.0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6023-9459Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University)The article analyses and contrasts Japan-Thailand and US-Thailand relations. It attempts to prove a thesis that the Japanese leadership formulates the policy towards Thailand in its own way, without regard for its key ally, namely the US. This problem tends to be of high relevance, since currently Thailand is attempting to cautiously maneuver between the PRC and the so-called “collective West”. The author insists that, although Japan's and the US approaches towards the Southeast Asia countries have never substantially contradicted each other (due to the previously existing bipolar system and China's currently increasing presence in the region), they imply different methods of influencing other countries, including Thailand. It is characteristic of the US to practice military-political cooperation, while Japan rather resorts to economic cooperation. Furthermore, Japan and the US, due to the confrontation during the Second World war, had different starting points for modern relations with Thailand. In order to showcase that bilateral dialogues have evolved independently, the author examines Japan's and the US main driving forces when building relations with Thailand in a chronological order, from the Second World war onwards. The author concludes that Japan's key interest in Thailand is economy, while the US has consistently prioritised human rights, which laid the foundation for the US to criticise the military coups of 2006 and 2014 in a harsher way. http://eastasiajournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2025/ea_2025_2_75-89.pdfjapanthailandthe usjapan-thailand relationsus-thailand relationsjapan-us relationsthe autonomy of japan’s foreign policythai military coups
spellingShingle Kokarev K.A.
Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?
Восточная Азия: факты и аналитика
japan
thailand
the us
japan-thailand relations
us-thailand relations
japan-us relations
the autonomy of japan’s foreign policy
thai military coups
title Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?
title_full Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?
title_fullStr Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?
title_full_unstemmed Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?
title_short Japan and the US in Thailand: do cooperation strategies differ?
title_sort japan and the us in thailand do cooperation strategies differ
topic japan
thailand
the us
japan-thailand relations
us-thailand relations
japan-us relations
the autonomy of japan’s foreign policy
thai military coups
url http://eastasiajournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2025/ea_2025_2_75-89.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT kokarevka japanandtheusinthailanddocooperationstrategiesdiffer