Oceania | Diplomacy | Oceania

Australia and Thailand Deepen Ties to Hedge Against Global Uncertainty

The building of collaboration with countries like Thailand is central to Australia’s long-term strategic vision.

In recent months, the Australia government has been incredibly active on the diplomatic front, from new security agreements with multiple Pacific Island countries to visits to Australia by the Japanese, Indian, New Zealand, and Vietnamese leaders. This week Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul made his way to Australia. 

For both Canberra and Bangkok, there is a desire to build more substantive regional relationships as a hedge against both a more unreliable Washington and a more assertive Beijing – as well as buttress against the rippling effects of the competition between the two superpowers. The Australia-Thailand relationship is therefore less about alliance-building than about building greater resilience through diversifying partnerships, and creating a latticework of cooperation within the Indo-Pacific region.

The two prime ministers signed a series of agreements during Anutin’s visit that sought to give this strategy practical substance. These included deepening cooperation on transnational crime, including online scams, cybercrime, money laundering, human trafficking, and narcotics. The purpose of these agreements is to enable greater information sharing and coordination between the two countries’ law enforcement agencies. 

Alongside this, the prime ministers committed to deepening economic engagement. Since the signing of the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2005, trade between the two countries has tripled, with Thailand becoming Australia’s fifth largest source of imports. But both countries believe there is room for expansion. They highlighted that cooperation across agriculture, clean energy, education, healthcare, critical technologies, resources, creative industries, and the digital economy were areas of greater ambition. 

The other major announcement was the establishment of a biennial defense ministers’ meeting. The two countries have had a longstanding, but low-key, defense relationship. A bilateral military exercise called Thai Boomerang was established in 1992, and Thailand has participated in major multilateral exercises in Australia like Talisman Sabre. But consultation on defense policies has been limited. The establishment of a regular forum for the defense ministers to meet and coordinate is a positive elevation of the partnership.

It is unlikely that the two countries will become treaty allies anytime soon. Instead the deepening of the partnership is part of a strategy of diversifying partners, as well as an understanding of security in more holistic terms. 

Anutin highlighted this in his August 18 address to the Lowy Institute........

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