THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN JAPAN AND THAILAND (2012-2019)

Abstract

Bilateral relations between every state are very common in the international world. States cooperate on the basis of common interests that have mutually beneficial goals between them. Generally, bilateral cooperation includes one or several fields, such as political, economic, social, security, and others. This bilateral cooperation can then be developed, with the agreement of the two states, to become more comprehensive and long-term, which is known as the Strategic Partnership. This study discusses the strategic partnership between Japan and Thailand, where the two states have agreed to improve bilateral relations in 2012, using the point of view of constructivism. This study examines how does the development of their strategic partnership. In the examination, the author analyzes what factors influence Japan and Thailand in developing their bilateral relationship to see the background of their bilateral relationship and analyzes the outcome of strategic partnership as well as to see the function of it from the constructivist perspective using three different level, which are the international level, the bilateral level, and the individual level theory introduced by Anna Michalski and Zhongqi Pan (2017). The results of this study indicate that there is a close historical relationship between the two states and is also influenced by the national interests of each state that fulfill the function of strategic partnership in all three levels. The two states have also developed bilateral relations in assisting the development of the Southeast Asian region.