(AP photo)In view of rising geopolitical tensions in Asia, Thailand's foreign policy strategy and posture has come into focus. The Thai foreign policy predilection was known simply as "bending with the wind" and "wait and see" before reacting for minimum disadvantage and maximum leverage. It assumes that Thai foreign relations came out of a coherent, unified and uniform decision-making processes among Thai elites. Put another way, Thai pragmatism was assumed to be singular, systematic and reliably monolithic when, in fact, it was not. To understand contemporary Thai foreign policy, it is necessary to acknowledge that internal squabbles among its elites are the first order of the day.

Source: Bangkok Post July 20, 2017 21:22 UTC