THE FALL OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THAILAND FROM THE CHINESE PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The Communist movement in Thailand was part of the international communist movement. So Communism in Thailand was introduced from outside and also influenced by the outside world. The history of Communist Party of Thailand (CPT) was part of Cold War. In fact, the rise of the CPT and China’s help were inseparably intertwined. Thai communists could not develop so fast without the help of China after the 1960s. However, the CPT finally failed in the 1980s due to its wrong strategy of development, internal divisions and struggles, the government’s counterinsurgency, the loss of support from China, among other factors. There are many papers that mentioned the Communist movements during the Cold War in Southeast Asia, but most of them focus on the Indochina states. However, the CPT was also an important part of the communist movement in Southeast Asia. The CPT profoundly influenced the society of Thailand. The rise and fall of the Communist Party of Thailand was related to China, Thailand, Vietnam, and even the United States. Doubtlessly, we can understand the impact of the Cold War on Southeast Asia through the history of the Communist Party of Thailand.