Military-Political Cooperation Between the USA and Thailand: Origins and Formation
https://doi.org/10.21603/sibscript-2026-28-3-572-581
EDN: ZQESDI
Abstract
This article examines the US–Thai security relations from World War II to the Manila Pact of 1954. Russian historical studies tend to overlook the origins of Thai-American military and political cooperation as an element of the San Francisco system of international relations. However, these origins still determine the nature of contemporary bilateral security relations, with the Manila Pact serving as the foundation for the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). The research relies on foreign sources introduced into Russian scholarship for the first time. Employing historical-genetic and comparative-historical methods, the author identified the international, national, and regional factors behind the rapprochement between Washington and Bangkok. The national factors included the coup d'état in Thailand and Phibun Songkhram’s rise to power, which established a hardline anti-communist course that served military interests. The regional factors involved the formation of the People’s Republic of China and the rise of communism in Indochina. The international factors included the Sino-Soviet rapprochement, the Korean War, and the defeat of France in Indochina. The convergence of these factors laid the groundwork for the military-political alliance between the United States and Thailand, which culminated in the obligations under the Manila Pact and the Thanat-Rusk Communique that remain relevant to this day.
About the Author
Eldar R. Khairullin
Dostoevsky Omsk State University
Russian Federation
Competing Interests:
Russian Federation
Omsk
Competing Interests:
The author declared no potential conflict of interests regarding the research, authorship, and / or publication of this article.
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Review
For citations:
Khairullin E.R. Military-Political Cooperation Between the USA and Thailand: Origins and Formation. SibScript. 2026;28(3):572–581. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21603/sibscript-2026-28-3-572-581. EDN: ZQESDI
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