Kepentingan Thailand Dalam Kerjasama Militer Dengan Tiongkok

Thai foreign policy is omnidirectional; it means Thai’s policy will always change along with the development of international politics. After 2014 coup, Thai foreign policy led to strengthening relations with China. In this study, the researcher examined why Thailand had military cooperation with China. This study aims to find out the background of military cooperation interests with China by Thailand. Foreign policy concept initiated by John P.Lovell was applied in explaining the background, benefits, and interests of Thailand in military cooperation with China. This study also uses explanatory research methods with library data collection techniques. Thailand has two interests in its military cooperation; including economic interest and political interest. There are several factors that influence this very close relation; they are, sanctions imposed by the United States after the 2014 coup, and there is considerable foreign assistance to country of Thailand. Thailand has a low-threat environment, Thailand does not really need high-class military defense equipment, so Chinese equipment is considered sufficient for Thailand. Thailand is trying to find new forces that support the legitimacy of the military junta in a government where China still responds positively to the actions of the military junta