Thai-US alliance comes with new twistsBefore General James C McConville, the Chief of Staff of the US army, was able to sign the Joint Vision Statement 2020 for the Thai-US Defence Alliance last Friday, he had to go through the stringent Covid-19 measures required under Thai law for foreign visitors. It would be Gen Apirat's last major activity in Thailand and would seal his position as a great believer in the strong Thai-US alliance before his retirement at the end of September. As such, the signing ceremony of the Strategic Joint Vision Statement 2020 was specifically aimed at "energising and enhancing" the bilateral army-to-army relationship and the readiness to deepen the 65-year-old Thai-US alliance and prepare it for the future. The joint statement also envisaged the Thai-US defence treaty alliance working together towards "stability, prosperity and sustainability in the Indo-Pacific region in support of an inclusive and rules-based international order". The Mekong region has recently been included in the list and thus become a new US-China battleground.

Source: Bangkok Post July 13, 2020 22:41 UTC