A bumpy start to 50 years of Chinese ties

Marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties with China this year, the Bangkok Post presents the results of a study that examined the history of Sino-Thai relations.

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The paper, titled “Thailand and the People’s Republic of China: Volatile Politics and Troubles in the Early Years of Diplomatic Relations (1975-1978)” was authored by Sitthiphon Kruarattikan and published by the International Study Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2020.

The research looked into the early years of Sino-Thai relations at a time when the Thai political landscape was rapidly changing.

Democracy was in full bloom after the fall of the military regime led by Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn following a popular uprising on Oct 14, 1973.

Forging diplomatic relations with China on July 1, 1975, was not only a diplomatic masterstroke by the Kukrit Pramoj government, but also represented a major shift in Thai foreign policy.

However, a military coup took place after the massacre of student protesters at Thammasat University on Oct 6, 1976, and an ultra-right government led by then prime minister Thanin Kraivixien was installed by the coup-makers.

The Thanin government was ousted in another coup on Oct 20, 1977, and supplanted by a “semi-democratic” regime with a government led by Gen Kriangsak Chomanan.

In 1975, neighbouring countries in Indochina underwent political upheavals as they turned to communist rule one by one.

These factors had a major impact on Thai foreign policies, and Thai-Sino relations between 1975 and 1977 did not go smoothly as a result.

COLD WAR ANTAGONISM

After the end of World War II, the governments of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram (1948-1957), Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat (1959-1963), and Field Marshal Thanom (1963-1973) aligned themselves with the Western bloc led by the United States.

These governments pursued policies against the communist bloc led by the Soviet Union.