Anutin said Thailand would preserve its capacity for independent decisions while diversifying its international relationships, drawing on both regional bodies and flexible minilateral arrangements.

Alongside an Australia and New Zealand tour

The remarks came during a visit to Australia and New Zealand from Aug. 17 to 22. Meeting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Aug. 19, Anutin agreed to deepen cooperation on transnational crime, economic ties, and science and innovation. It was the first official visit to Australia by a Thai prime minister in 14 years.

He had earlier visited Indonesia on Aug. 3-4 to discuss security, economic and cultural cooperation under the Thailand-Indonesia Strategic Partnership Plan for 2026-2030. The itinerary itself reads as diversification put into practice.

A long-standing Southeast Asian choice

Declining to choose sides is not new for Southeast Asian states. But with technology export controls and supply-chain realignment under way, the cost of maintaining that position has risen: compliance demands now arrive from both directions at once.

Hwagyo Sibo makes no prediction about whether the approach holds. For ethnic Chinese business owners rooted in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, however, such foreign policy bears directly on operating conditions — which regulatory system governs determines counterparties and payment routes alike.