ABSTRACT
Thailand, previously known as Siam, is among the five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and has played key roles in fostering closer cooperation within East Asian region. This chapter will assess Thailand’s contribution to the development and success of regional cooperation such as ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three (APT). The second section introduces Thailand’s historical accounts, particularly Thailand’s political, economic, and social identities and development. The third section discusses Thailand’s current settings. The fourth section explores Thailand’s involvement in regional organizations such as the Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The fifth section analyzes Thailand’s contribution to ASEAN’s Political-Security, Economic, and Socio-Cultural Communities. Thesixth section goes beyond ASEAN to explore the APT arrangements which started after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis that had crippled many countries in the region and forced policymakers and practitioners in the financial world to reassess the liberalized approach to economic development. The last section provides a conclusion to Thailand’s overall relation and contribution to ASEAN and APT with an analysis of the country’s key strengths and challenges. It is through a better understanding of national development and differences and similarities among ASEAN and APT member countries, that a closer community can be achieved.
