Book The Quest for Thai - US Alliance Apichart Chinwanno ISBN 978-616-341-089-4 (Download .pdf below)

Thailand's role in encouraging the American SEATO commitment has often been ignored in the study of the origin of American involvement in the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers, for example, are heavily Vietnam-centred to the neglect of wider Southeast Asian picture. Thailand's decision to join SEATO is sometimes thought to be no more than a response to American diplomatic pressure. The Quest for Thai - US Alliance is an attempt to fill such a gap, by giving a systematic and comprehensive account of political, strategic, economic and historical factors that governed the Thai policy of alignment with the West in 1947 - 1954.

Apichart Chinwanno is a former senior diplomat who served as Director-General, Department of East Asian Affairs, Deputy Permanent Secretary and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs (2015-2016). He also served as Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Sweden, Belgium (and concurrently as Ambassador, Head of Delegation of Thailand to the European Union), and France. He received D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University. Currently, he holds the post of Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations of the Thai Red Cross Society.