In Thailand's "arena", the US is trying to regain influence, while China wants to further strengthen military cooperation.

At the signing of a joint vision statement with the US last month, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha sat quietly while US Defense Secretary Mark Esper emphasized his commitment to Bangkok amid "coercion and intimidation from the party." outside "is covering Asia.

Commentator Philip Heijmans from Bloomberg said that the Pentagon boss's strong statement seems to be referring to China.

Less than an hour later, Prime Minister Prayuth, a former Thai army commander, also signed a defense cooperation agreement with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Phuong Hoa. He pledged to support important Beijing policies such as the Belt Road Initiative to develop infrastructure projects around the globe.

While neither agreement is clear, Prime Minister Prayuth's equilibrium shows China's influence over a nation with deep military ties to the United States for decades.

Former US President George W. Bush in 2003 once called Thailand "a great non-NATO ally", but the relationship between the two countries began to deteriorate in 2014, after Thailand had a military coup, Forcing Washington to activate laws to restrict defense relations with Bangkok until democracy in the country is restored.

Taking advantage of the US-Thailand relationship becoming cold, China quickly filled the gap, intensified military drills and signed 10 major arms contracts, including the $ 1.03 billion deal. sell three diesel - electric submarines and 48 main battle tanks to Thailand.

"Pushing back on relations with the United States means Thailand is at the center of the geopolitical battle between the US and China in Southeast Asia," said Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of Counseling. Southeast Asia topic in Chiang Mai, comment.

After Thailand held a general election in March to elect a civilian government instead of a military one, the administration of US President Donald Trump quickly sought to regain his lost position. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit to Bangkok in August praised Thailand for "returning to democracy". Meanwhile, the US State Department is also promoting the strategy of exporting weapons to Thailand.

Jillian Bonnardeaux, spokesman for the US Embassy in Bangkok, said the US arms deals were "clear, transparent" and "unlike Russia or China". She added that weapons and aid programs from US rivals "seldom transfer their capabilities as advertised, instead leaving buyers indebted to inoperable systems."

Thailand in August announced it would receive 70 Stryker armored vehicles before the end of this year under the US Military Foreign Procurement program. They also plan to buy 50 more. By September, the Thai military said it was buying eight AH-6i light attack helicopters in a $ 138 million contract with the US.

Competition between the United States and China in Thailand has expanded into military exercises in recent years. Thailand continues to hold a "Golden Cobra" exercise with US marines. This is the largest exercise in Asia and this year brought together 29 participating countries, including 4,500 American soldiers and several dozen Chinese soldiers.

At the same time, Thailand participates in more joint military exercises with China than other countries in Southeast Asia, according to Ian Storey, senior expert at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. Initially only humanitarian assistance and demining drills in 2005, it has recently expanded into both maritime and aviation exercises.

"Our actions are all about balance. We cannot choose sides, we must be friendly to everyone," said Raksak Rojphimphun, director of policy and planning at Thailand's Ministry of Defense. last month speaking on the sidelines of a regional defense minister conference in Bangkok. "We are a small country. We cannot choose our friends."

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), sales of traditional Chinese weapons have increased from US $ 644 million in 2008 to US $ 1.04 billion in 2018. Compared to the United States, the country has had an average annual arms export turnover of $ 9 billion over the past 10 years. In 2018 alone, US arms exports totaled $ 10.5 billion.

For Thailand, which has an annual defense expenditure of about US $ 7.7 billion, China is probably still a supplier of some weapons that are cheaper than the US. Now, as the world's fifth-largest arms exporter, China largely sells arms to its neighbors, with Asia accounting for 75% of all contracts, of which Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar are three. biggest customer.

Southeast Asia is also an increasingly expanding market in the field of defense. According to Siemon Wezeman, researcher at SIPRI, the US reduction in commitment to Asia has pushed countries in the region closer to China. "The US is becoming an increasingly unreliable partner," he said.