Military history of Thailand
Encyclopedia
The military history of Thailand
encompasses a thousand years of armed struggle, from wars of independence from the powerful Khmer Empire
, through to struggles with her regional rivals of Burma and Vietnam
and periods of tense standoff and conflict with the colonial empires of Britain and France. Thailand's military history, dominated by her centrality in the south-eastern Asian region, the significance of her far flung and often hostile terrain, and the changing nature of military technology, has had a decisive impact on the evolution of both Thailand and her neighbours as modern nation states. In the post-war era, Thailand
's military relationship with the United States has seen her play an important role in both the Cold War
and the recent War on Terror
, whilst her military's involvement in domestic politics has brought frequent international attention.
s and later adopting ballista
artillery from China.
By the end of the period, indigenous revolts amongst Khmer territories in Siam and Vietnam
, and external attack from the independent kingdom of Champa
, sapped Khmer strength. After the sack of the Khmer capital Angkor Wat
by Champa
forces in 1178-9, Khmer's ability to control its wider territories diminished rapidly. The first Siamese kingdom to gain independence, Sukhothai
, was itself rapidly conquered by another newly independent Siamese kingdom, Ayutthaya
, in 1350. After 1352 Ayutthaya became the failing Khmer empire's main rival, leading to the Ayutthayan ultimate conquest of the Khmer state in 1431.
The subsequent years saw constant warfare as numerous states attempted to exploit the collapse of Khmer hegemony. As none of the parties in the region possessed a technological advantage, the outcome of battles was usually determined by the size of the armies. The use of war elephants continued, with some battles seeing personal combat between commanders on elephants. After each victorious campaign, Ayutthaya carried away a number of conquered people to its own territory, where they were assimilated and added to the labor force. To the south, Autthaya easily achieved domination over the outlying Malay states
. To the north, however, the kingdom of Burma posed a potential military threat to the Siamese kingdom. Although frequently split and divided in the 16th century, during periods of unity Burma could, and did, defeat Ayuttahaya in battle, such as in 1564 and 1569. What followed was another prolonged period of Burmese disunity. During Ayutthayan King Narai
's reign, conflicts with England's East India Company
led to the Siam–England war of 1687. The English were subsequently banned from Siam until their defeat of Burma in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826).
A century after Siam repelled the English Company, a reunified Burma successfully invaded Ayutthaya again in 1767, this time burning the capital and temporarily dividing the country. General, later King, Taksin
assumed power and defeated the Burmese at the battle of Pho Sam Ton Camp later in 1767. With Chinese political support, Taksin fought several campaigns against Vietnam, wresting Cambodia from Vietnamese control in 1779. In the north, Taksin's forces freed the kingdom of Lanna
from Burmese control, creating an important buffer zone, and conquered the Laotian kingdoms in 1778. Ultimately, internal political dissent, in part fed by concerns over Chinese influence, brought the deposition of Taksin
and the establishment of General Chakri as Rama I
in 1782 and the founding of the Rattanakosin Kingdom with its new capital city at Bangkok
.
Military competition for regional hegemony continued, with continued Siamese military operations to maintain their control over the kingdom of Cambodia, and Siamese support for the removal of the hostile Tây Sơn Dynasty
in Vietnam with the initially compliant ruler of Nguyễn Ánh. In later years, the Vietnamese emperor was less cooperative, supporting a Cambodian rebellion against Siamese authority and placing a Vietnamese garrison in Phnom Penh
, the Cambodian capital, for several years. Conflict with Burma was renewed in the two campaigns of the Burmo-Siamese war (1785-6), seeing initial Burmese successes in both years turned around by decisive Siamese victories. The accession of Rama II
in 1809 saw a final Burmese invasion, the Thalang
campaign, attempting to take advantage of the succession of power. Despite the destruction of Thalang, Rama
's ultimate victory affirmed Siamese relative military superiority against Burma, and this conflict was to represent the final invasion of Siamese territory by Burma.
. Siam intervened in support of Britain against Burma in 1826, but her lackluster performance inspired Chao Anouvong's surprise attach on Korat. Lady Mo's resistance established her as a cultural heroine, and General Bodindecha
's victory two years later established him as a major figure in Thai military history. His successful campaign in the Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) reaffirmed Siamese power over Cambodia
. In 1849, weakening Burmese power encouraged revolt amongst the Burmese controlled Shan states of Kengtung and Chiang Hung
. Chiang Hung
repeatedly sought Siamese support, and ultimately Siam responded with the initial despatch of forces in 1852. Both armies found difficulties campaigning in the northern mountainous highlands, and it took until 1855 before the Siamese finally reached Kengtung: though with great difficulty and the exhaustion of Siamese resources ultimately resulted in their retreat. These wars continued to be fought in the traditional mode, with war elephants continued to be deployed in the field carrying light artillery during the period, often being a decisive factor in battle. Meanwhile, the visible military weaknesses of China in the First
and Second Opium War
s with Britain and later France between the 1830s and 1860s encouraged Siam to reject Chinese suzerainty
in the 1850s. Siam, however, was under military and trade pressure itself from the European powers, and as King Rama III reportedly said on his deathbed in 1851: "We will have no more wars with Burma and Vietnam. We will have them only with the West."
Under Napoleon III, France escalated the military pressure on Siam from the east; France's naval interventions in Vietnam in the 1840s gave way to a concerted imperial campaign. Saigon fell in 1859, with French ascendency in Vietnam being confirmed
in 1874. France took Cambodia
in 1863, combining it with Vietnam to form the colony of Indochina
in 1887. From the south, Britain's involvement in the Larut
and Klang
wars of the 1870s increased both its grip over and political investment in the Malay states. From the north, Britain, triumphant in the Second Anglo-Burmese War
of 1852, ultimately concluded its conquest of Burma in the Third Anglo-Burmese War
and had incorporated the kingdom of Burma into the British Raj
by 1886. The European military dominance was driven largely by the dominance of European naval power, coal powered vessels, increasingly iron clad
, eclipsing the local brown water navies
. Nonetheless, European campaigns remained limited by the difficulties and costs of military logistics and the climate, especially the threat of malaria
.
Siam's response under King Mongkut
was to commence a wide programme of reform in the Western model, which including the Siam military. The Royal Thai Army traces its origins as a standing force to Mongkut's creation of the Royal Siamese Army as a standing force in the European tradition in 1852. By 1887, Siam had permanent military commands, again in the European fashion, and by the end of the century, Siam had also acquired a Royal Navy
under the reforms of Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse
. Siam's increasing focus on centralised military force to deter European invasion came at the cost of the former decentralised military and political arrangements, beginning a trend towards centralised military power that would continue into the 20th century Thai history. Despite the growing Siamese military strength, Siam's independence during much of the late 19th century on the ongoing rivalry between Britain and France across the region, especially in the search for lucrative trade routes into the Chinese hinterlands. By developing an increasing sophisticated military force and playing one colonial rival off against another, successive Siamese monarchs were able to maintain an uneasy truce until the 1890s.
The closing act of this struggle was the French occupation of eastern Thai territory in the Franco-Siamese war of 1893
, which paved the way for an uneasy peace between Siam and France in the region for the next forty years. French Indochina's Governor-General
had sent an envoy to Bangkok
to bring Laos
under French rule, backed by the threat of French military force. The Siamese government, mistakenly believing that they would be supported by the British, refused to concede their territories east of the Mekong
river and instead reinforced their military and administrative presence there. Spurred on by the expulsion of French merchants on suspicion of opium smuggling, and the suicide of a French diplomat returning from Siam, French took the Siamese refusal to concede its eastern territories as a case for war.
In 1893 the French ordered their navy to sail up the Chao Phraya river
towards Bangkok. With their guns now trained on the Siamese royal palace, the French delivered an ultimatum to the Siamese to hand over the disputed territories and to pay indemnities for the fighting so far. When Siam did not immediately comply unconditionally to the ultimatum, the French blockaded the Siamese coast. Unable to respond at sea or on land, in the end the Siamese submitted fully to the French conditions, finding no support from the British. The conflict led to the signature of the Franco-Siamese Treaty shortly afterwards, in which the Siamese conceded Laos
to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina
.
In 1904 the French and the British put aside their differences with the Entente Cordiale
, which ended their dispute over routes in southern Asia and also removed the Siamese option for using one colonial power as military protection against another. Meanwhile, the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909
produced a compromise, largely in Britain's favour, between Britain and Siam over the disputed territories in the north of Malaya. Siam's next conflict was its two year involvement in the First World War, fighting on the side of the Entente Powers, the only independent Asian nation with land forces in Europe during the Great War. The result of this intervention in 1917 was the revision or complete cancellation of some of the unequal trade treaties
with the United States, France and the British Empire
- but not the return of the bulk of the disputed Siamese territories lost in the previous century.
and Allied
forces in the region but also the regional struggle across south-east Asia between historic rivals. Like other regional actors, Thailand
- under military rule following the coup of 1932 and led by Prime Minister Major-General Plaek Pibulsonggram
(popularly known as "Phibun") - was to exploit the changes in power caused by the fall of France and the expansion of Japan to attempt to off-set the losses of the previous century. Thailand's considerable investment in her army, based on a mixture of British and German equipment, and her airforce - a blend of Japanese and American aircraft - was about to be put to use.
The conflict fell into three broad phases. During the initial phase following the fall of France in 1940 and the establishment of Japanese bases in France's Far Eastern colonial territories, Thailand opened up an air offensive along the Mekong
frontier, attacking Vientiane
, Sisophon
, and Battambang
with relative impunity. In early January 1941, the Thai Army launched a land offensive, swiftly taking Laos
whilst entering into a more challenging battle for Cambodia
where the pursuit of the French units proved more difficult. At sea, however, the heavier forces of the French navy quickly achieved dominance, winning skirmishes at Ko Chang
, followed by the French victory at the Battle of Ko Chang
. The Japanese mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was held January 28, followed by a peace treaty signed in Tokyo on May 9, with the French being coerced by the Japanese into relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.
During the second phase, Japan took advantage of the weakening British hold on the region to invade Siam, seeing the country as an obstacle on the route south to British held Malaya
and its vital oil supplies, and north-west to Burma
. On December 8, 1941, after several hours of minimal fighting between Siamese and Japanese troops, Thailand acceded to Japanese demands for access. Later that month Phibun
signed a mutual offensive-defensive alliance pact with Japan giving the Japanese full access to Thai railways, roads, airfields, naval bases, warehouses, communications systems, and barracks. With Japanese support, Thailand annexed those former possessions in northern Malaya it had been unable to acquire under the 1909 treaty, and conducted a campaign against its former allies in the Shan state
s of Burma along its northern frontier.
By the final stages of the war, however, the weakening position of Japan across the region and the Japanese requisition of supplies and materiel reduced the military benefits to Siam, turning an unequal alliance into an increasingly obvious occupation. Allied airpower achieved superiority over the country, bombing Bangkok
and other targets. The sympathies of the civilian political elite, moved perceptibly against the Phibun regime
and the military, forcing the Prime Minister from office in June 1944. With the fall of Japan, France and Britain insisted on the return of those lands annexed by Siam during the conflict, returning the situation to the situation ante bellum.
The conflict highlighted the new importance of airpower across the region, for example the use of dive bomber
s against French troops in 1941 or the use of air reconnaissance in the northern mountains. It had also highlighted the importance of well trained pilots to effective airwar. Ultimately, the conflict emphasised the challenges of logistics across often impassable terrain, which generated expensive military campaigns - a feature to reemerge in the post-war period during the conflicts in French Indochina
.
Thailand's military history in the post-war period was dominated by the growth of Communism
across the region, which rapidly became one of the fault lines in the Cold War
. Thailand's successive governments found that the Communist bloc in south-east Asia largely consisted of their historical military rivals, and were increasing drawn both into the regional struggle and into having to deal with Communist insurgency at home. Thailand's postwar leaders were mainly traditionalists, seeking to restore the prestige of the monarchy and to defeat the growth of Communism
, which was closely associated with Thailand's traditional enemies, the Vietnamese - now in open revolt
against the French. Following Thailand's participation in the Korean War
, and with the steady growth of U.S. involvement in the region, Thailand formally become a U.S. ally in 1954 with the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
(SEATO).
Whilst the war in Indochina
was being fought between the Vietnamese and the French, Thailand - disliking both her old rivals equally - initially refrained from entering the conflict, but once it became a war between the U.S. and the Vietnamese Communists
, Thailand committed itself strongly to the U.S. side. Thailand concluded a secret military agreement with the U.S. in 1961, and in 1963 openly allowed the use of their territories as air bases and troop bases for U.S. forces
before finally sending her own troops to Vietnam. Thailand was however more involved with the secret war and covert operations in Laos from 1964 to 1972. The Vietnamese retaliated by supporting the Communist Party of Thailand
's insurgency in various parts of the country. By 1975 relations between Bangkok and Washington had soured; eventually all U.S. military personnel and bases were forced to withdraw and direct Thai involvement in the conflict came to an end.
The Communist victory in Vietnam further emboldened the Communist movement within Thailand. After the Thammasat University massacre
in 1976 and the repressive policies of Tanin Kraivixien
sympathies for the movement increased, and by the late 1970s it was estimated that the movement had about 12,000 armed insurgents, mostly based in the northeast along the Laotian-Khmer border. Counter-insurgency campaigns by the Thai military meant that by the 1980s insurgent activities had been largely defeated. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978 to remove the Pol Pot
regime - tacitly supported by Thailand and China - brought the Vietnamese-Thailand conflict up to the Thai border, resulting in small border raids and incursions by Vietnamese against the remaining Khmer Rouge
camps inside Thai territory, that lasted until 1988. Thailand, meanwhile, with U.S. support sponsored the creation of the Khmer People's National Liberation Front
, which operated against the new Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government from 1979 onwards from bases inside Thailand. Similar small skirmishes emerged along the Thai-Laotian border
in 1987-1988.
The last twenty years of Thailand's military history has been dominated less by the threat of external attack, but by the role of the Thai military in internal politics. For most of the 1980s, Thailand
was ruled by prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda
, a democratically-inclined leader who restored parliamentary politics. Thereafter the country remained a democracy apart from a brief period of military rule from 1991 to 1992, until, in 2006 mass protests against the Thai Rak Thai party's alleged corruption prompted the military to stage a coup d'état. A general election in December 2007 restored a civilian government, but the legacy of the Thai military's frequent involvement in domestic politics remains.
Meanwhile, the long-running southern insurgency
, waged by the ethnic Malays and Islamic rebels
in the three southern provinces of Yala
, Pattani
and Narathiwat
intensified in 2004, with attacks on ethnic Thai civilians from the insurgents escalating. The Royal Thai Armed Forces in turn responded in force. Casualties currently stands at 155 Thai military personnel killed against 1,600 insurgents killed and about 1,500 captured, against the backdrop of about 2,729 civilian casualties. Strong U.S. military support for Thailand under President Bush
, as part of the U.S. War on Terror
, assisted the Thai military in this counter-insurgency role, although discussions continue in the Royal Thai Government as to the role of the military, vice civilians, in the leadership of this campaign. U.S. Air force units have also been permitted to use Thai air bases once more, flying missions over Afghanistan
and Iraq
in 2001 and 2003 respectively.
The Thai military maintains strong regional relations under the Association of South-Eastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) organisation, illustrated by the annual Cobra Gold exercises, the latest in 2009 involving 12,000 soldiers from Thailand, the U.S., Japan, Singapore and Indonesia, characterised as the largest such exercise in south-east Asia. This association, bringing together many former enemies, plays an important part in ensuring ongoing peace and stability across the region.
Thai troops have been controversially used to attempt to quell the 2010 Thai political protests
, resulting in numerous civilian deaths.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8685051.stm
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
encompasses a thousand years of armed struggle, from wars of independence from the powerful Khmer Empire
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
, through to struggles with her regional rivals of Burma and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and periods of tense standoff and conflict with the colonial empires of Britain and France. Thailand's military history, dominated by her centrality in the south-eastern Asian region, the significance of her far flung and often hostile terrain, and the changing nature of military technology, has had a decisive impact on the evolution of both Thailand and her neighbours as modern nation states. In the post-war era, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
's military relationship with the United States has seen her play an important role in both the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the recent War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, whilst her military's involvement in domestic politics has brought frequent international attention.
State formation and Siam's regional conflicts (1300–1826)
The Siamese military state emerged out of the disintegration in the 14th century of the once powerful Khmer Empire. Khmer, a powerful military state centered on what is today termed Cambodia, had dominated the region through the use of feudal militia captains, owing personal loyalty to the Khmer warrior kings, and leading locally conscripted peasant levies deployed during the dry seasons. Primarily based around its infantry, the Khmer army was typically reinforced by war elephantWar elephant
A war elephant was an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. A division of war elephants is known as elephantry....
s and later adopting ballista
Ballista
The ballista , plural ballistae, was an ancient missile weapon which launched a large projectile at a distant target....
artillery from China.
By the end of the period, indigenous revolts amongst Khmer territories in Siam and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and external attack from the independent kingdom of Champa
Champa
The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
, sapped Khmer strength. After the sack of the Khmer capital Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
by Champa
Champa
The kingdom of Champa was an Indianized kingdom that controlled what is now southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.The Cham people are remnants...
forces in 1178-9, Khmer's ability to control its wider territories diminished rapidly. The first Siamese kingdom to gain independence, Sukhothai
Sukhothai kingdom
The Sukhothai Kingdom ) was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. The Kingdom existed from 1238 till 1438...
, was itself rapidly conquered by another newly independent Siamese kingdom, Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
, in 1350. After 1352 Ayutthaya became the failing Khmer empire's main rival, leading to the Ayutthayan ultimate conquest of the Khmer state in 1431.
History of Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in South East Asia whose strategic sea-lane position brought trade and foreign influences that fundamentally influenced its history. Hindu and Buddhist cultures imported from India dominated early Malaysian history...
. To the north, however, the kingdom of Burma posed a potential military threat to the Siamese kingdom. Although frequently split and divided in the 16th century, during periods of unity Burma could, and did, defeat Ayuttahaya in battle, such as in 1564 and 1569. What followed was another prolonged period of Burmese disunity. During Ayutthayan King Narai
Narai
Somdet Phra Narai or Somdet Phra Ramathibodi III was the king of Ayutthaya from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous Ayutthayan king. His reign was the most prosperous during the Ayutthaya period and saw the great commercial and diplomatic activities with foreign nations including the...
's reign, conflicts with England's East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
led to the Siam–England war of 1687. The English were subsequently banned from Siam until their defeat of Burma in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826).
A century after Siam repelled the English Company, a reunified Burma successfully invaded Ayutthaya again in 1767, this time burning the capital and temporarily dividing the country. General, later King, Taksin
Taksin
Taksin ; was the only King of the Thonburi Kingdom...
assumed power and defeated the Burmese at the battle of Pho Sam Ton Camp later in 1767. With Chinese political support, Taksin fought several campaigns against Vietnam, wresting Cambodia from Vietnamese control in 1779. In the north, Taksin's forces freed the kingdom of Lanna
Lanna
The Kingdom of Lanna was a kingdom centered in present-day northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. The cultural development of the people of Lanna, the Tai Yuan people, had begun long before as successive Tai Yuan kingdoms preceded Lanna...
from Burmese control, creating an important buffer zone, and conquered the Laotian kingdoms in 1778. Ultimately, internal political dissent, in part fed by concerns over Chinese influence, brought the deposition of Taksin
Taksin
Taksin ; was the only King of the Thonburi Kingdom...
and the establishment of General Chakri as Rama I
Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chakri Borommanat Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke , posthumously titled "the Great", or Rama I , was the founder and the first monarch of the reigning House of Chakri of Siam . He ascended the throne in 1782, after defeating a rebellion which had deposed King...
in 1782 and the founding of the Rattanakosin Kingdom with its new capital city at Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
.
Military competition for regional hegemony continued, with continued Siamese military operations to maintain their control over the kingdom of Cambodia, and Siamese support for the removal of the hostile Tây Sơn Dynasty
Tây Son Dynasty
The name of Tây Sơn is used in many ways to refer to the period of peasant rebellions and decentralized dynasties established between the eras of the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties in the history of Vietnam between 1770 and 1802...
in Vietnam with the initially compliant ruler of Nguyễn Ánh. In later years, the Vietnamese emperor was less cooperative, supporting a Cambodian rebellion against Siamese authority and placing a Vietnamese garrison in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, the Cambodian capital, for several years. Conflict with Burma was renewed in the two campaigns of the Burmo-Siamese war (1785-6), seeing initial Burmese successes in both years turned around by decisive Siamese victories. The accession of Rama II
Buddha Loetla Nabhalai
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Isarasundhorn Phra Buddha Loetla Nabhalai , or Rama II , was the second monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1809-1824. In 1809, Isarasundhorn succeeded his father Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the founder of Chakri dynasty, as Buddha Loetla Nabhalai...
in 1809 saw a final Burmese invasion, the Thalang
Phuket City
Phuket is a city located in the southeast of Phuket Island, Thailand. It is the capital of the Phuket Province, covering all of the island. As of 2007 the city has a population of 75,573 people...
campaign, attempting to take advantage of the succession of power. Despite the destruction of Thalang, Rama
Buddha Loetla Nabhalai
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Isarasundhorn Phra Buddha Loetla Nabhalai , or Rama II , was the second monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1809-1824. In 1809, Isarasundhorn succeeded his father Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the founder of Chakri dynasty, as Buddha Loetla Nabhalai...
's ultimate victory affirmed Siamese relative military superiority against Burma, and this conflict was to represent the final invasion of Siamese territory by Burma.
Siam and the European military threat (1826–1932)
The British victories over Burma in 1826 set the stage for a century in which the military history of Thailand was to be dominated by the threat of European colonialism. Initially, however, Siamese concern remained focused on its traditional rivals of Burma and VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Siam intervened in support of Britain against Burma in 1826, but her lackluster performance inspired Chao Anouvong's surprise attach on Korat. Lady Mo's resistance established her as a cultural heroine, and General Bodindecha
Bodindecha
Chao Phraya Bodindecha was one of the most prominent political and military figures of the early Bangkok Rattanakosin Kingdom. Bodindecha was both chancellor and military general during the reign of King Rama III...
's victory two years later established him as a major figure in Thai military history. His successful campaign in the Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) reaffirmed Siamese power over Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. In 1849, weakening Burmese power encouraged revolt amongst the Burmese controlled Shan states of Kengtung and Chiang Hung
Chiang Hung
Kingdom of Heokam or Kingdom of Chiang Hung was a political entity of Tai Lue people centered on the city of Chiang Hung or modern Jinghong the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture...
. Chiang Hung
Chiang Hung
Kingdom of Heokam or Kingdom of Chiang Hung was a political entity of Tai Lue people centered on the city of Chiang Hung or modern Jinghong the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture...
repeatedly sought Siamese support, and ultimately Siam responded with the initial despatch of forces in 1852. Both armies found difficulties campaigning in the northern mountainous highlands, and it took until 1855 before the Siamese finally reached Kengtung: though with great difficulty and the exhaustion of Siamese resources ultimately resulted in their retreat. These wars continued to be fought in the traditional mode, with war elephants continued to be deployed in the field carrying light artillery during the period, often being a decisive factor in battle. Meanwhile, the visible military weaknesses of China in the First
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
and Second Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
s with Britain and later France between the 1830s and 1860s encouraged Siam to reject Chinese suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
in the 1850s. Siam, however, was under military and trade pressure itself from the European powers, and as King Rama III reportedly said on his deathbed in 1851: "We will have no more wars with Burma and Vietnam. We will have them only with the West."
Under Napoleon III, France escalated the military pressure on Siam from the east; France's naval interventions in Vietnam in the 1840s gave way to a concerted imperial campaign. Saigon fell in 1859, with French ascendency in Vietnam being confirmed
Treaty of Saigon
The Treaty of Saigon was signed on June 5, 1862, between representatives of the French Empire and the last precolonial emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty, Emperor Tự Đức. Based on the terms of the accord, Tự Đức ceded Saigon, the island of Poulo Condor and three southern provinces of what was to become...
in 1874. France took Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
in 1863, combining it with Vietnam to form the colony of Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
in 1887. From the south, Britain's involvement in the Larut
Larut War
Larut War was a series of four wars started in July 1861 and ended with the signing of the Pangkor Treaty of 1874. The conflict was fought among local Chinese secret societies over the control of mining areas in Perak which later involved rivalry between Raja Abdullah and Ngah Ibrahim.-First war...
and Klang
Klang War
The Klang War or Selangor Civil War took place in the Malay state of Selangor and was fought between Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar, the administrator of Klang and Raja Mahadi bin Raja Sulaiman from 1867 to 1874...
wars of the 1870s increased both its grip over and political investment in the Malay states. From the north, Britain, triumphant in the Second Anglo-Burmese War
Second Anglo-Burmese War
The Second Anglo-Burmese War was the second of the three wars fought between the Burmese and the British Empire during the 19th century, with the outcome of the gradual extinction of Burmese sovereignty and independence....
of 1852, ultimately concluded its conquest of Burma in the Third Anglo-Burmese War
Third Anglo-Burmese War
The Third Anglo-Burmese War was a conflict that took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance and insurgency continuing into 1887. It was the final of three wars fought in the 19th century between the Burmese and the British...
and had incorporated the kingdom of Burma into the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
by 1886. The European military dominance was driven largely by the dominance of European naval power, coal powered vessels, increasingly iron clad
Ironclad warship
An ironclad was a steam-propelled warship in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, protected by iron or steel armor plates. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, La Gloire,...
, eclipsing the local brown water navies
Brown-water navy
Brown-water navy is a term that originated in the United States Navy, referring to the small gunboats and patrol boats used in rivers, along with some of the larger ships that supported them as "mother ships," from which they operated...
. Nonetheless, European campaigns remained limited by the difficulties and costs of military logistics and the climate, especially the threat of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
.
Siam's response under King Mongkut
Mongkut
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut , was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868...
was to commence a wide programme of reform in the Western model, which including the Siam military. The Royal Thai Army traces its origins as a standing force to Mongkut's creation of the Royal Siamese Army as a standing force in the European tradition in 1852. By 1887, Siam had permanent military commands, again in the European fashion, and by the end of the century, Siam had also acquired a Royal Navy
Royal Thai Navy
The Royal Thai Navy is the navy of Thailand and part of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, it was established in the late 19th century. Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse is "The Father of Royal Thai Navy". Similar to the organizational structure of the United States, the Royal Thai Navy includes the...
under the reforms of Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse
Abhakara Kiartiwongse
Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartivongse, Prince of Chumphon, , was the 28th child of King ChulalongkornHis familiar other names, Sadej Tia or Doctor Phon or Prince of Chumphon, will command deep respect from Thai people from navy officers to rural villagers.He spent his early years studying Naval...
. Siam's increasing focus on centralised military force to deter European invasion came at the cost of the former decentralised military and political arrangements, beginning a trend towards centralised military power that would continue into the 20th century Thai history. Despite the growing Siamese military strength, Siam's independence during much of the late 19th century on the ongoing rivalry between Britain and France across the region, especially in the search for lucrative trade routes into the Chinese hinterlands. By developing an increasing sophisticated military force and playing one colonial rival off against another, successive Siamese monarchs were able to maintain an uneasy truce until the 1890s.
Franco-Siamese War of 1893
The Franco-Siamese War of 1893 was a conflict between the French Third Republic and the Kingdom of Siam. Auguste Pavie, French vice consul in Luang Prabang in 1886, was the chief agent in furthering French interests in Laos...
, which paved the way for an uneasy peace between Siam and France in the region for the next forty years. French Indochina's Governor-General
Governor-General of French Indochina
-External links:*...
had sent an envoy to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
to bring Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
under French rule, backed by the threat of French military force. The Siamese government, mistakenly believing that they would be supported by the British, refused to concede their territories east of the Mekong
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
river and instead reinforced their military and administrative presence there. Spurred on by the expulsion of French merchants on suspicion of opium smuggling, and the suicide of a French diplomat returning from Siam, French took the Siamese refusal to concede its eastern territories as a case for war.
In 1893 the French ordered their navy to sail up the Chao Phraya river
Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya is a major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It runs through Bangkok, the capital city, and then empties into the Gulf of Thailand.-Etymology:...
towards Bangkok. With their guns now trained on the Siamese royal palace, the French delivered an ultimatum to the Siamese to hand over the disputed territories and to pay indemnities for the fighting so far. When Siam did not immediately comply unconditionally to the ultimatum, the French blockaded the Siamese coast. Unable to respond at sea or on land, in the end the Siamese submitted fully to the French conditions, finding no support from the British. The conflict led to the signature of the Franco-Siamese Treaty shortly afterwards, in which the Siamese conceded Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
to France, an act that led to the significant expansion of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
.
In 1904 the French and the British put aside their differences with the Entente Cordiale
Entente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent...
, which ended their dispute over routes in southern Asia and also removed the Siamese option for using one colonial power as military protection against another. Meanwhile, the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909
Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909
The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 or Bangkok Treaty of 1909 was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Siam signed on March 10, 1909, in Bangkok. Ratifications were exchanged in London on July 9, 1909....
produced a compromise, largely in Britain's favour, between Britain and Siam over the disputed territories in the north of Malaya. Siam's next conflict was its two year involvement in the First World War, fighting on the side of the Entente Powers, the only independent Asian nation with land forces in Europe during the Great War. The result of this intervention in 1917 was the revision or complete cancellation of some of the unequal trade treaties
Unequal Treaties
“Unequal treaty” is a term used in specific reference to a number of treaties imposed by Western powers, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, on Qing Dynasty China and late Tokugawa Japan...
with the United States, France and the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
- but not the return of the bulk of the disputed Siamese territories lost in the previous century.
Thailand, the Second World War and Japanese occupation (1932–45)
For Thailand—renamed from Siam in 1939—the Second World War involved both the bilateral struggle between the AxisAxis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
and Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
forces in the region but also the regional struggle across south-east Asia between historic rivals. Like other regional actors, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
- under military rule following the coup of 1932 and led by Prime Minister Major-General Plaek Pibulsonggram
Plaek Pibulsonggram
Field Marshal Plaek Pibunsongkhram , often known as Phibun Songkhram or simply Phibun in English, was Prime Minister and virtual military dictator of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.- Early years :...
(popularly known as "Phibun") - was to exploit the changes in power caused by the fall of France and the expansion of Japan to attempt to off-set the losses of the previous century. Thailand's considerable investment in her army, based on a mixture of British and German equipment, and her airforce - a blend of Japanese and American aircraft - was about to be put to use.
The conflict fell into three broad phases. During the initial phase following the fall of France in 1940 and the establishment of Japanese bases in France's Far Eastern colonial territories, Thailand opened up an air offensive along the Mekong
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
frontier, attacking Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
, Sisophon
Sisophon
Sisophon is the provincial capital of Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia. The city separates Cambodia's National Highway 5 and National Highway 6. Serei Saophoan is difficult to pronounce, so often the area is written transliterated as "Sisophon", even on Cambodian signs...
, and Battambang
Battambang
Battambang is the capital city of Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia.Battambang is the second-largest city in Cambodia with a population of over 250,000. Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is well known for being the leading rice-producing province of the country...
with relative impunity. In early January 1941, the Thai Army launched a land offensive, swiftly taking Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
whilst entering into a more challenging battle for Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
where the pursuit of the French units proved more difficult. At sea, however, the heavier forces of the French navy quickly achieved dominance, winning skirmishes at Ko Chang
Ko Chang
Ko Chang is the third largest island of Thailand , located on the Thai east coast 310 km away from Bangkok near the border to Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. The name means Elephant Island. Ko Chang was named for the elephant shape of its headland, although elephants are not indigenous to...
, followed by the French victory at the Battle of Ko Chang
Battle of Koh Chang
The Battle of Koh Chang took place on 17 January 1941 during the French-Thai War and resulted in a decisive victory by the French over the Royal Thai Navy. During the battle, a flotilla of French warships attacked a smaller force of Thai vessels, including a coastal battleship.In the end, Thailand...
. The Japanese mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was held January 28, followed by a peace treaty signed in Tokyo on May 9, with the French being coerced by the Japanese into relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.
During the second phase, Japan took advantage of the weakening British hold on the region to invade Siam, seeing the country as an obstacle on the route south to British held Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
and its vital oil supplies, and north-west to Burma
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
. On December 8, 1941, after several hours of minimal fighting between Siamese and Japanese troops, Thailand acceded to Japanese demands for access. Later that month Phibun
Plaek Pibulsonggram
Field Marshal Plaek Pibunsongkhram , often known as Phibun Songkhram or simply Phibun in English, was Prime Minister and virtual military dictator of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.- Early years :...
signed a mutual offensive-defensive alliance pact with Japan giving the Japanese full access to Thai railways, roads, airfields, naval bases, warehouses, communications systems, and barracks. With Japanese support, Thailand annexed those former possessions in northern Malaya it had been unable to acquire under the 1909 treaty, and conducted a campaign against its former allies in the Shan state
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
s of Burma along its northern frontier.
By the final stages of the war, however, the weakening position of Japan across the region and the Japanese requisition of supplies and materiel reduced the military benefits to Siam, turning an unequal alliance into an increasingly obvious occupation. Allied airpower achieved superiority over the country, bombing Bangkok
Bombing of Bangkok in World War II
The bombing of Bangkok, was operate by the Allied Air Forces during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Allied air raid on Bangkok in 1944,Intended to pressure the Thai government with air raid. And destroy the source of Japanese armaments. And its allies have tried to attack the community to...
and other targets. The sympathies of the civilian political elite, moved perceptibly against the Phibun regime
Plaek Pibulsonggram
Field Marshal Plaek Pibunsongkhram , often known as Phibun Songkhram or simply Phibun in English, was Prime Minister and virtual military dictator of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and 1948 to 1957.- Early years :...
and the military, forcing the Prime Minister from office in June 1944. With the fall of Japan, France and Britain insisted on the return of those lands annexed by Siam during the conflict, returning the situation to the situation ante bellum.
The conflict highlighted the new importance of airpower across the region, for example the use of dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s against French troops in 1941 or the use of air reconnaissance in the northern mountains. It had also highlighted the importance of well trained pilots to effective airwar. Ultimately, the conflict emphasised the challenges of logistics across often impassable terrain, which generated expensive military campaigns - a feature to reemerge in the post-war period during the conflicts in French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
.
Thailand and regional Communism (1945–90)
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
across the region, which rapidly became one of the fault lines in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Thailand's successive governments found that the Communist bloc in south-east Asia largely consisted of their historical military rivals, and were increasing drawn both into the regional struggle and into having to deal with Communist insurgency at home. Thailand's postwar leaders were mainly traditionalists, seeking to restore the prestige of the monarchy and to defeat the growth of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, which was closely associated with Thailand's traditional enemies, the Vietnamese - now in open revolt
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
against the French. Following Thailand's participation in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and with the steady growth of U.S. involvement in the region, Thailand formally become a U.S. ally in 1954 with the formation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February...
(SEATO).
Whilst the war in Indochina
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
was being fought between the Vietnamese and the French, Thailand - disliking both her old rivals equally - initially refrained from entering the conflict, but once it became a war between the U.S. and the Vietnamese Communists
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
, Thailand committed itself strongly to the U.S. side. Thailand concluded a secret military agreement with the U.S. in 1961, and in 1963 openly allowed the use of their territories as air bases and troop bases for U.S. forces
United States Air Force In Thailand
The United States Air Force deployed combat aircraft to Thailand from 1961 to 1975 during the Vietnam War. Today, USAF units train annually with other Asian Air Forces in Thailand...
before finally sending her own troops to Vietnam. Thailand was however more involved with the secret war and covert operations in Laos from 1964 to 1972. The Vietnamese retaliated by supporting the Communist Party of Thailand
Communist Party of Thailand
The Communist Party of Thailand - CPT was a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Thailand, active from 1942 until the 1990s. Initially known as Communist Party of Siam the party was founded officially on the 1st of December 1942, although communist activism in the country began as early...
's insurgency in various parts of the country. By 1975 relations between Bangkok and Washington had soured; eventually all U.S. military personnel and bases were forced to withdraw and direct Thai involvement in the conflict came to an end.
The Communist victory in Vietnam further emboldened the Communist movement within Thailand. After the Thammasat University massacre
6 October 1976 Massacre
The Thammasat University Massacre, or Massacre of 6 October 1976 , was an attack on students and protesters that occurred on the campus of Thammasat University and at Sanam Luang in Bangkok. Students from various universities were demonstrating against the return to Thailand of Field Marshal...
in 1976 and the repressive policies of Tanin Kraivixien
Tanin Kraivixien
Tanin Kraivixien or Thanin Kraivixien was the prime minister of Thailand between 1976 and 1977. Tanin is a son of Hae and Pa-ob Kraivixien, and is of Chinese-Thai descent. Tanin studied law at Thammasat University, graduating in 1948. He then went to the London School of Economics to continue with...
sympathies for the movement increased, and by the late 1970s it was estimated that the movement had about 12,000 armed insurgents, mostly based in the northeast along the Laotian-Khmer border. Counter-insurgency campaigns by the Thai military meant that by the 1980s insurgent activities had been largely defeated. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978 to remove the Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
regime - tacitly supported by Thailand and China - brought the Vietnamese-Thailand conflict up to the Thai border, resulting in small border raids and incursions by Vietnamese against the remaining Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
camps inside Thai territory, that lasted until 1988. Thailand, meanwhile, with U.S. support sponsored the creation of the Khmer People's National Liberation Front
Khmer People's National Liberation Front
The Khmer People's National Liberation Front was a political front organized in 1979 in opposition to the Vietnamese-installed People's Republic of Kampuchea regime in Cambodia...
, which operated against the new Vietnamese-backed Cambodian government from 1979 onwards from bases inside Thailand. Similar small skirmishes emerged along the Thai-Laotian border
Thai–Laotian Border War
The Thai–Laotian Border War was a short confrontation between Thai and Laotian forces. It was caused by a dispute involving the map made by French surveyors in 1907 to mark the borders between Siam and French Indochina...
in 1987-1988.
Post communist period (1990 onwards)
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
was ruled by prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda
Prem Tinsulanonda
General Prem Tinsulanonda is a retired Thai military officer who served as Prime Minister of Thailand from March 3, 1980 to August 4, 1988. He now serves as the Head of the Privy Council of the King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej....
, a democratically-inclined leader who restored parliamentary politics. Thereafter the country remained a democracy apart from a brief period of military rule from 1991 to 1992, until, in 2006 mass protests against the Thai Rak Thai party's alleged corruption prompted the military to stage a coup d'état. A general election in December 2007 restored a civilian government, but the legacy of the Thai military's frequent involvement in domestic politics remains.
Meanwhile, the long-running southern insurgency
South Thailand insurgency
An ethnic separatist insurgency is taking place in Southern Thailand, predominantly in the Malay Pattani region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand. Violence has increasingly spilling over into other provinces...
, waged by the ethnic Malays and Islamic rebels
Patani United Liberation Organization
The Patani United Liberation Organization or PULO is one of the active separatist movements calling for a free and independent Patani...
in the three southern provinces of Yala
Yala Province
Yala is the southernmost province of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat. Yala is the only land-locked province in the south of Thailand...
, Pattani
Pattani Province
Pattani is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Narathiwat, Yala and Songkhla.-Geography:...
and Narathiwat
Narathiwat Province
Narathiwat is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan. The southern railway line ends in this province that is one of the nation’s five provinces that borders Malaysia. The name of this...
intensified in 2004, with attacks on ethnic Thai civilians from the insurgents escalating. The Royal Thai Armed Forces in turn responded in force. Casualties currently stands at 155 Thai military personnel killed against 1,600 insurgents killed and about 1,500 captured, against the backdrop of about 2,729 civilian casualties. Strong U.S. military support for Thailand under President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, as part of the U.S. War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, assisted the Thai military in this counter-insurgency role, although discussions continue in the Royal Thai Government as to the role of the military, vice civilians, in the leadership of this campaign. U.S. Air force units have also been permitted to use Thai air bases once more, flying missions over Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 2001 and 2003 respectively.
The Thai military maintains strong regional relations under the Association of South-Eastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) organisation, illustrated by the annual Cobra Gold exercises, the latest in 2009 involving 12,000 soldiers from Thailand, the U.S., Japan, Singapore and Indonesia, characterised as the largest such exercise in south-east Asia. This association, bringing together many former enemies, plays an important part in ensuring ongoing peace and stability across the region.
Thai troops have been controversially used to attempt to quell the 2010 Thai political protests
2010 Thai political protests
A prolonged series of political protests occurred in Bangkok, Thailand in 2010 from March to May against the Democrat Party-led government. The protests were organized by the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship...
, resulting in numerous civilian deaths.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8685051.stm