 | |
 Thailand |  Australia |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Royal Thai Embassy, Canberra | Embassy of Australia, Bangkok |
| Envoy | |
| Arjaree Sriratanaban | Angela Macdonald |
Foreign relations exist between Australia and Thailand. Thailand is represented through its embassy in Canberra and a consulate general in Sydney. Australia has an embassy in Bangkok. Formal diplomatic relations were established between the two nations in 1952. [1]
In the 1901 Victorian census, three Thais were recorded. In the 1920s, King Vajiravudh sent Butra Mahintra to Australia to purchase racehorses. In 1927, the Prince of Kamphaengphet, Purachatra Jayakara led a group of Thai royals to Brisbane to tour Australian agriculture, meeting with the Governor of Queensland, John Goodwin. [2]
In November 1940, a Thai goodwill mission led by justice minister Thawan Thamrongnawasawat visited New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. They were welcomed by Australian external affairs minister Frederick Stewart and received by governor-general Lord Gowrie. [3] Stewart stated that it was "pleasing to be able to meet representatives of a neighbouring country without the intrusion of trade considerations", and hoped that "the result of the visit of the Thailand mission will be that both Australia and Thailand will greatly increase their imports and exports of goodwill, in addition to their normal trade relationships". [4]
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese invasion of Thailand on 7 and 8 December 1941 respectively, Australia and Thailand found themselves on opposing sides in World War II. After the Thai declaration of war on Britain, Australia declared war on Thailand on 2 March via Swiss diplomats. [5]
In order to further their invasion into Burma, the Japanese started construction of the Burma railway from Bangkok to Thanbyuzayat. From October 1942 to October 1943, 13,000 Australian POWs captured from Singapore and the East Indies were transported to help construct the railway alongside Allied POWs and civilians, as well as Asian labourers. Construction of the railway resulted in the death of 2,815 POWs. [6] A particular section of the railway was the Hellfire pass in Thailand, where POWs and civilians were forced to cut through a mountain pass. In the 1980s, the cutting was reclaimed from the jungle by ex-Australian POWs. [7] Currently, the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre is handled by the Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs. [8]
In the post-war period, 111 Japanese and Koreans who forced the construction of the railway, were convicted of war crimes, resulting in 32 of them being executed. [9] Australia also signed a peace treaty with Thailand on 3 April 1946, becoming one of the first acts of Australian independence from Britain in its foreign affairs after the Statute of Westminster came into effect in 1942. [10]
During the Cold War, both Australia and Thailand aligned themselves with the United States against Communism. Formal relations between Australia and Thailand were established on 19 December 1952. [11] When the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed on 8 September 1954 in Manila, both Thailand and Australia were founding members. [12] From 1962 to 1968, to support their fellow SEATO member, Australia deployed F-86 Sabre aircraft to Ubon Ratchathani province when the area came under a Communist insurgency. [13] [14] During the Vietnam War, both Australia and Thailand fought against the North Vietnamese.
During the 1960s and 1970s, both Thai and Khmer artifacts were smuggled through Thailand and sold to buyers in the United States and Australia. The main importer of Thai and Khmer artifacts into Australia was by the David Jones Art Gallery, who subsequently sold them to museums in Australia. [15]
As part of the Colombo Plan, Australia attracted students from Thailand to study in Thailand. [2] From 1970 to 1976, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn studied in Australian at Parramatta's King's School, and Duntroon's Royal Military College. According to TheSydney Morning Herald, the Australian government was particularly concerned about Vajiralongkorn's safety from assassinations. [16] From 2018 to 2021, the Australian embassy in Bangkok would go on to produce a documentary around Vajiralongkorn time in Australia, with the 18-minute film being screened to King Vajiralongkorn on 15 February 2021, and then on Thai television. [17] [18]
Both Thailand and Australia were founding members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) formed in 1989. [19]
During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, Thailand supported Australian efforts in the region by contributing the second most soldiers to the Australian-led International Force East Timor. [20]
During the 2006 Thai coup d'état, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said, "it's of grave concern to us that the government has been overthrown in this way". [21]
In 2005, both signed the Thailand–Australia Free Trade Agreement, the ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement in 2010, and the Australia–Thailand Strategic Partnership on 13 November 2020. [14]
In 2023, Murray Upton returned nine Buddha statues to Thailand which were obtained by his father from Trang province in 1911. [22]
Currently, both Thailand and Australia are major non-NATO allies of the United States. [23] [24]
In 2003, the two countries announced they would enter into a free trade agreement. [25] The Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) entered into force on 1 January 2005. TAFTA has facilitated increased two-way trade and investment, improved business mobility, encouraged international best practice, and promoted bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including customs procedures, government procurement, competition policy and intellectual property protection. [26]
As of 2015, the two-way trade in goods and services was worth more than A$20.8 billion. [27]
Thailand is an important market for Australian aluminium and metal. Australia is also a significant supplier of coal to Thailand.
Thailand is a significant tourist market for Australians with 400,000 Australians visiting Thailand each year. The Australia-Thailand aviation market is Australia's 6th largest. [28]
Australian passport holders can stay in Thailand for 30-days without applying for a visa. [29]
Smartravller, which provides international travel advice by the Australian government for Australians travelling overseas, list Thailand overall as 'exercise a high degree of caution', whilst the southern provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat are labelled as 'do not travel' due to the insurgency. [30]
Several direct flights between Australia and Thailand exists:
| Dates | People | Locations | Itinerary |
| August 26-September 12, 1962 | King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirkit | Canberra, Port Kembla, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Woomera | In Canberra, they visited several military sites and then toured Sydney harbour. Attended a garden party in Brisbane where they met Thai students as well as those in Melbourne. First visit by a non-British royal. [37] |
| May 26–29, 2012 | Prime-minister Yingluck Shinawatra | Canberra, Sydney | Made a visit to Canberra and Sydney on the 60th anniversary of relations. At the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney, she encouraged investment in Thailand. [38] |
| Dates | People | Locations | Itinerary |
| April 20–23, 1957 | Robert Menzies | Bangkok | Arrived in Bangkok to talk about Australia's ties with SEATO. [39] |
| November 3–4, 2019 | Scott Morrison | Bangkok | Arrived in Bangkok to attend the 14th East Asia Summit, where he also met with Prayut Chan-o-cha. [40] |
| November 17–19, 2022 | Anthony Albanese | Bangkok | Arrived in Bangkok to attend the 29th APEC summit. [41] |
On 5 November 2006, several Asian Elephants arrived from Thailand to Melbourne zoo. The group consisted of three females called Kulab, Dokkoon, and Num-Oi. Kulab gave birth to a male in 2010 called Ongard, who is now part of a breeding program in the United States; Dokkoon gave birth to a female also on 16 January 2010 called Mali; while Num-Oi gave birth in 2023 to Kati. Luk Chai is a male descended from elephants from Thailand born at Taronga zoo on 4 July 2009 who was moved to Melbourne for breeding and has since fathered three calves. [42]
The foreign relations of Thailand are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
As of September 2024, Vietnam maintains diplomatic relationships with 191 UN member states, State of Palestine and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. In 2011 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, at the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, released an official statement about Vietnam's foreign policy and a section of the statement stated: "Vietnam is a friend and reliable partner of all countries in the international community, actively taking part in international and regional cooperation processes. Deepen, stabilize and sustain established international relations. Develop relations with countries and territories in the world, as well as international organizations, while showing: respect for each other's independence; sovereignty and territorial integrity; non-interference in each other's international affairs; non-use or threat of force; settlement of disagreements and disputes by means of peaceful negotiations; mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit."
The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a 415 km (258 mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma. It was built from 1940 to 1943 by South East Asian civilians abducted and forced to work by the Japanese and a smaller group of captured Allied soldiers, to supply troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. It completed the rail link between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma. The name used by the Japanese Government was Tai–Men Rensetsu Tetsudō (泰緬連接鉄道), which means Thailand-Burma-Link-Railway.
Foreign relations of Australia are influenced by its position as a leading trading nation and as a significant donor of humanitarian aid. Australia's foreign policy is guided by a commitment to multilateralism and regionalism, as well as to build strong bilateral relations with its allies. Key concerns include free trade, terrorism, refugees, economic co-operation with Asia and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Australia is active in the United Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations. Given its history of starting and supporting important regional and global initiatives, it has been described as a regional middle power par excellence.
Hellfire Pass is the name of a railway cutting on the former Burma Railway in Thailand which was built with forced labour during the Second World War. More than 250,000 Southeast Asian civilians and 12,000 Allied soldiers built the railway line, including Hellfire Pass. The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction. It was called Hellfire Pass because the sight of emaciated prisoners labouring by burning torchlight resembled a scene from Hell.
The diplomatic history of Australia encompasses the historical events surrounding Australian foreign relations. Following the global change in the dynamics of international state of affairs in the 20th century, this saw a transition within Australia's diplomatic situation to broaden outside of exclusively commonwealth and western European nations. Its core relationship was with Great Britain until 1941, and with the United States and New Zealand since then as represented by ANZUS. In the 21st century trade has soared with China. However relations have cycled back and forth from friendly to strained. For recent relations see also Foreign relations of Australia.
Mom Rajawongse Sukhumbhand Paribatra is a Thai politician belonging to the Democrat Party. From 2009 to 2016 he was the Governor of Bangkok. He was removed from the post in October 2016 by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who used Section 44 of the interim charter to remove the elected official. The reason given for his ouster was "...because he was involved in many legal cases." He was replaced by Police General Aswin Kwanmuang.
Bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the United States of America date back to 1818. Thailand and the United States have long been close allies and diplomatic partners.
Bilateral relations between Russia and Thailand date to the late nineteenth century, when the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and King Chulalongkorn of Siam formed a friendly personal relationship. The two countries exchanged legations in 1897–1898, and signed a declaration of friendship in 1899. Diplomatic relations were terminated following the Russian Revolution in 1917, and re-established between the Soviet Union and Thailand on 12 March 1941; Thailand recognized the Russian Federation as the successor to Soviet Union on 28 December 1991. Russia has an embassy in Bangkok and two honorary consulates in Phuket and Pattaya. Thailand has an embassy in Moscow and two honorary consulates. Both countries are full members of APEC and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Denmark–Thailand relations date back to 1621. Denmark operates an embassy in Bangkok, along with a consulate in Phuket, although it used to have one in Pattaya. The Danish embassy in Bangkok also handles Danish relations with Cambodia, with the current Danish ambassador of Thailand also being the ambassador to Cambodia. Thailand itself operates an embassy in Copenhagen.
Myanmar–Thailand relations refers to the current and historical relations between Myanmar and Thailand. Myanmar has an embassy in Bangkok. Thailand has an embassy in Yangon. Relations between Burma and Thailand focus mainly on economic issues and trade. There is sporadic conflict with Thailand over three disputed islands.
The enlargement of the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations is the process of expanding the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the accession of new member states. This process began with ASEAN's five original members, who founded the association through the signing of the Bangkok Declaration in 1967. Since then, the ASEAN's membership has grown to ten with the accession of Cambodia in 1999.
The nations of Mexico and Thailand established diplomatic relations in 1975. Both nations are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation and the United Nations.
There have been twenty-four United States presidential visits to Southeast Asia by ten U.S. presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first incumbent president to visit a Southeast Asian country when he visited the Philippines in 1960. Since then, every president, except John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, has travelled to the region. The Philippines, a former U.S. colony (1902–1946) and a close U.S. ally, is the most visited Southeast Asian country with ten visits, followed by Indonesia with nine, and Vietnam with eight. Of the eleven sovereign states in the region, all but East Timor have been visited by a sitting American president.
Paul Grigson is an Australian diplomat and public servant. He is currently the deputy secretary of Infrastructure, Transport Security and Customs Group and the deputy comptroller-general of customs. He has served as the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar.
Thailand–Turkey relations are the modern foreign relations between Thailand and Turkey. The cordial relations between the two countries date back to 1958, when the two countries established diplomatic relations. Shortly after, Turkey set up its embassy in Bangkok. Thailand reciprocated by opening its embassy in 1972. However, even during the era of the Ottoman Empire, there had been historical contacts between the Empire and Siam at the time -- most notably the visit of Prince Damrong, younger brother of King Chulalongkorn the Great of Siam, to Istanbul as the royal guest of Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1891.
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