6 Decades of Thai-Malaysian Relations: the Close Neighboring Country

Abstract

This article attempts to express the diplomatic relations between Thai and Malaysian in the sixty years anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2017. The data of the article was reviewed from various documents. It is found that Thailand and Malaysia are the good neighboring country to each other. The good relationship is the outstanding characteristic and it is to be said that their relationship is the best among other neighboring countries. Along the diplomatic relations there was no tension and conflict ended up with using the military means. Moreover, the peaceful means and mechanisms are set as the resolution to the problems and conflicts among them. This means and mechanism are also the examples and models adopted to the resolution of Thai and other neighboring countries problems. Their relations can be summed up into four periods: 1) the closure of the relation period that has leaders and Communism as the key factors in their relations; 2) the cooperation under suspicious period is the period dominated under the Malayan Communist Party and the Southern Thai Separatist groups factors; 3) the economic cooperation period is the period that highly focused on the economic issues; and 4) the ASEAN Community period is the period that mainly covered under the ASEAN Community policy.