PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. International Studies
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpos.2025.1658337
Trump's America 2.0: Thailand's response under China's shadow
Provisionally accepted
Thapiporn Suporn1
Poowin Bunyavejchewin2*- 1Khon Kaen University International College, Khon Kaen, Thailand
- 2Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University, Pathum Thani, Thailand
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Once a close ally of the United States, Thailand now finds itself walking a diplomatic tightrope under the shadow of Donald Trump's second presidency and China's growing influence. Trump's America First doctrine, characterized by disengagement and transactionalism, has left allies such as Bangkok questioning Washington's reliability. Confronted with the uncertainties precipitated by the Trump administration, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has positioned the nation closer to Beijing, even making controversial accommodations, notably the deportation of Uyghur refugees to China. Caught between two major powers, Thailand faces a political dilemma. While China's influence is rapidly expanding, its demands risk fostering overdependence and provoking domestic backlash. Conversely, the United States now appears distant and unpredictable. This study highlights Thailand's efforts to maintain a delicate balance amid these strategic fluctuations, urging the United States to reclaim its role as a balancer in continental Southeast Asia, where nations such as Thailand continue to seek equilibrium of major power influence amid intense geopolitical rivalry.
Keywords: China, Thailand, Thai-U.S. relations, Trump's foreign policy, United States
Received: 02 Jul 2025; Accepted: 19 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Suporn and Bunyavejchewin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Poowin Bunyavejchewin, Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University, Pathum Thani, Thailand
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