value of Philippines trade with China remained substantially less than
with Taiwan.
Thailand was the third ASEAN state to establish diplomatic
relations with the PRC. This was a significant move because Thailand,
even more than the Philippines, had been deeply involved in the
Second Indochina War. Thai troops served in South Vietnam, while
Thai bases were used by American aircraft to bomb communist pos-
itions. What facilitated establishment of diplomatic relations was the
overthrow of the Thai military regime in 1973, which ushered in a
brief spell of democracy. When Thai Prime Minister, Kukrit Pramoj,
visited Beijing in July 1975, he met with a surprisingly friendly recep-
tion. Asked why he thought things had gone so well, Kukrit told
reporters it was because he had ‘used the Thai manner of approaching
[Mao]—the idea that you are older and better’.^1 In other words, Kukrit
accorded China the status Beijing desired. What Kukrit described as
Thai politeness, the Chinese accepted as due deference. In return, they
were gracious and accommodating.
The form of words Kukrit used is revealing, for it re-established a
status hierarchy that the Thai often refer to as older brother–younger
brother. This is a family relationship, but in Thai, as in Chinese, there
is no word for ‘brother’ and the relationship not only is hierarchical,
but also carries with it well understood obligations on both sides. What
was just as significant about the Thai move was its timing, following so
soon after the precipitous US withdrawal from Vietnam barely three
months before. Thailand had turned from enjoying close relations with
one regional hegemon to seeking a similar relationship with the state
the Thai clearly believed would be the next. This was entirely in
keeping with Thai international relations culture. When the Thai mil-
itary retook power in a bloody coup a little over a year later, nothing
was done to jeopardise blossoming relations with Beijing.
China’s readiness to enter into diplomatic relations with coun-
tries in Southeast Asia in which it had previously supported revolution
was justified by Mao’s theory of the ‘Three Worlds’. The First World
Fresh beginnings