7/31/2019 Thailand Point
1/1
Thailand responded pragmatically to the military and political
pressures of World War II.When sporadic fighting broke out between
Thai and French forces along Thailand's easternfrontier in late
1940 and early 1941, Japan used its influence with the Vichy regime
in Franceto obtain concessions for Thailand. As a result, France
agreed in March 1941 to cede 54,000square kilometers of Laotian
territory west of the Mekong and most of the Cambodianprovince of
Battambang to Thailand. The recovery of this lost territory and the
regime'sapparent victory over a European colonial power greatly
enhanced Prime Minister Phibun'sreputation.
Then, on December 8, 1941, after several hours of fighting
between Thai and Japanese troopsat Chumphon, Thailand had to accede
to Japanese demands for access through the countryfor Japanese
forces invading Burma and Malaya. Phibun assured the country that
the Japanese action was prearranged with a sympathetic Thai
government. Later in the monthPhibun signed a mutual defense pact
with Japan. Pridi resigned from the cabinet in protest
but subsequently accepted the nonpolitical position of regent
for the absent Ananda Mahidol.
Under pressure from Japan, the Phibun regime declared war on
Britain and the United Statesin January 1942, but the Thai
ambassador in Washington, Seni Pramoj, refused to deliver
thedeclaration to the United States government. Accordingly, the
United States refrained fromdeclaring war on Thailand. With
American assistance Seni, a conservative aristocrat
whoseantiJapanese credentials were well established, organized the
Free Thai Movement, recruitingThai students in the United States to
work with the United States Office of Strategic Services(OSS). The
OSS trained Thai personnel for underground activities, and units
were readied toinfiltrate Thailand. From the office of the regent
in Thailand, Pridi ran a clandestinemovement that by the end of the
war had with Allied aid armed more than 50,000 Thai toresist the
Japanese.
Thailand was rewarded for Phibun's close cooperation with Japan
during the early years ofwar with the return of further territory
that had once been under Bangkok's control,including portions of
the Shan states in Burma and the four northernmost Malay states.
Japanmeanwhile had stationed 150,000 troops on Thai soil and built
the infamous "death railway"through Thailand using Allied prisoners
of war.
As the war dragged on, however, the Japanese presence grew more
irksome. Trade came to ahalt, and Japanese military personnel
requisitioning supplies increasingly dealt with Thailandas a
conquered territory rather than as an ally. Allied bombing raids
damaged Bangkok andother targets and caused several thousand
casualties. Public opinion and, even moreimportant, the sympathies
of the civilian political elite, moved perceptibly against the
Phibunregime and the military. In June 1944, Phibun was forced f
rom office and replaced by the firstpredominantly civilian
government since the 1932 coup.
