These past few days, the place with the highest density of US military forces worldwide is not the Persian Gulf, but Phuket.
On September 2nd, when the rusty ‘Lincoln’ sailed into the port of Lichabun, journalists from all over Thailand and even around the world rushed to the vicinity of the port to watch the event.
Rusted “Lincoln” aircraft carrier
In Pattaya, which is about a 20-minute drive away, Thai business owners decorated their shops with lights and decorations, cleaned the floors, and posted English signs saying “Warmly welcomed by the US military” outside their shops.
Some words are much more annoying than others. Besides the common "Welcome" everywhere, there are also people who write "Brothers, you've worked hard!" (Thank you for your service), and "Welcome back to the heroes" (Hero's Welcome).
I don't know who served whom, how come I'm "hero" now.
It seems that these American soldiers are not fighting against Persians, but rather against the Cambodians next door.
Due to Iran's attack on Bahrain Port, American ships were unable to dock in the Middle East for supplies. The USS Lincoln aircraft carrier and its attached ships drifted at sea for over eight months, with severe shortages of supplies and immense mental stress on the crew.
Normally, one would return to shore only once a month. But now, after drifting for most of the year, some crew members even want to jump into the sea.
So, I chose Bangkok—the only city along the route from the Persian Gulf to California’s home port that has a treaty of alliance with the US military, a history of cooperation, and rich “entertainment resources”.
And Phuket, after the outbreak of the pandemic, business has not been good at all. Coupled with the Iranian war which increased oil prices and blocked air traffic, European tourists can no longer fly here, making the area even more desolate and quiet these days.
The US troops arrived, and Phuket felt as if it had finally encountered rain after a long drought. They were eager to wipe away all the US soldiers one by one.
A group of fierce American soldiers, along with a similarly eager Baja person, what will happen?
Thais themselves also have a clear understanding of this situation. So they can only use self-mockery to ease the awkwardness. Everyone online is creating memes: The US military has arrived, and they want to "change the oil" (a Thai slang term for something indecent)?
All people around the world wore a knowing smile.
But the US military and the Pattaya government insist on acting as if it were a pure encounter.
Before landing, the US military set up a bunch of rules called "Seven Prohibitions" and "Eight No-go's" for those who would land there.
It is forbidden to wander around brothels, to smoke marijuana, to play in water-related activities, to rent cars, to leave for Pattaya, and also to visit several of the largest streets and alleys in downtown Pattaya…
Compliance is impossible.
The US troops immediately connected themselves to the vehicle, and many people didn't even go back to the hotel, but went straight to the 'prohibited area'. The US troops' instructions became a travel guide.
And it’s useless to just comply. Phuket isn’t a city with a few “red-light streets”; it’s a “giant red-light street with urban functions”. In whichever direction you go, there are bars, and in those bars, there are girls… and outside the bars, there are temptations. If you don’t go to the 18th Street, how can you enjoy the delicacies like “Djir Dagun”?
As for the Thai government, especially the city government of Pattaya, they wipe their mouths while pretending to be respectable.
Phuket police even conducted a fake "pornography crackdown" in Phuket the night before the US military's landing.
Captured dozens of girls and monsters on the streets. Fine them with some money, then release them.
Rather than calling this "protection against pornography," it seems more like a pre-job training—a warning to the girls and temptresses: be careful these days, don't cause trouble, and don't overdo it with punishing the 'American lord,' so as not to create news that could lead to being arrested by the police.
Then, the mayor of Pattaya said with a righteous and pure expression: Our Pattaya not only has bars and waitresses, but there are also many "formal activities" worth experiencing for American friends.
In TV news, a group of American soldiers were featured, visiting temples in Pattaya as a typical example of 'pure vacation'. The story was highlighted extensively, with the American soldiers appearing to be 'overjoyed'.
This awkward performance is even considered funny by the Thais themselves.
As common knowledge, Phuket is a tourist destination "created by US military forces during the Vietnam War," which is well-known.
This statement is correct.
In the 1950s, Pattaya didn’t even exist as a city; it was just a small fishing village with beautiful beaches and harbors.
In June 1959, 500 American soldiers stationed in Koh Krae arrived at a southern beach in Pattaya to take a vacation. This small, hidden resort quickly became known within the US military.
By the mid-1960s, the United States turned Thailand into a frontline base for the Vietnam War. Not far away, it established “U Thong Phao Airfield” specifically for landing U.S. transport aircraft and B-52 bombers, to “send warmth” to neighboring Vietnam.
1964년의 바탐과 오늘날의 바탐
A large number of soldiers who were going to Vietnam, as well as American soldiers who had just been withdrawn from the battlefield in Vietnam, flocked to Phuket for vacation. As a result, local hotels, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs grew like mushrooms after a spring rain.
The US military is on vacation, so it's impossible for them to bring food. Therefore, Pattaya has been turned into a "Top Eight Hotspots in Southeast Asia", with a unique and soulful atmosphere.
After the end of the Vietnam War, Pattaya's business declined significantly, and it began to attract Europeans, as well as tourists from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the Hong Kong and Macau regions, which had just experienced economic growth.
Another ten years later, waves of Chinese and Russian tourists flooded Pattaya, making this city famous in the hearts of Chinese people. Over the past twenty years, almost all Chinese who have traveled abroad have visited Pattaya at some point.
Later on, wealthy Russians who were able to avoid war began buying houses in Pattaya. Chinese business owners established numerous development zones, industrial parks, and factories along the “Eastern Economic Corridor.” Many Chinese people lived nearby and went to Pattaya for shopping on weekends.
This once “American backyard” has become a “Chinese-owned rest stop”. Indians have heard about it and come here, occupying the pedestrian streets and beaches in Pattaya, constantly changing the color and appearance of this city.
However, no matter how things change, Phuket still remembers: what its initial memories and mission were.
Barbie in the White House, just like Thailand is to the United States.
In those years, Americans not only drank and went to bars in Thailand, but they also provided systematic assistance and transformation to Thailand.
To help the Thai government suppress the rural revolutions in the northeast, Americans funded the construction of the 'Friendship Highway' from Bangkok to Khao Ratcha. They also invested in local water management, bridge and road construction, school establishment, training of technical officials, and procurement of strategic materials.
The purpose of the United States is to turn Thailand into a “anti-communist” frontline, but objectively, this has greatly accelerated Thailand's development. Nowadays, many large local enterprises in Thailand earned their initial profits by working for American clients and earning dollars—including the family of the current Prime Minister Anuithong, who also benefited from the support of the US military.
Therefore, Phuket's hosting of American troops is a matter of expertise and familiarity. It is better to call it a rekindling of an old dream than a sudden windfall from heaven.
American soldiers walking on the streets of Pattaya, in places where their predecessors once fought.
Thai shops, attracting these American soldiers on the street, just like their ancestors did, just like this country, with those old memories of those who entered the world and achieved success quickly.
Therefore, there is nothing for Bangkok or Thailand to ponder, reflect on, or hesitate about regarding the U.S. military landing.
Because it was in this business that he made his fortune back then.
Of course, if you simply base your judgment on the enthusiasm shown by Thais in the streets to welcome American troops, then you might think that Thailand is a pro-American country, or even a kind of “American colony” – but that’s not really the case.
For Thailand, everything is just business.
Just like a woman from a brothel, she will welcome you, accept you, serve you, and show you her longing and resentment, reminiscing about their past together with deep affection.
But this doesn’t mean that she truly has any genuine feelings for you.
When you have used up all your wealth beside your bed, she will push open the door and leave. Then, she will immediately get ready again, with exactly the same enthusiasm and charm, to serve the next “client who wants to captivate me”.
She did not betray you, because she never truly loved you, nor had she ever loved anyone else. Everything was just a facade, mere pretense.
Internationally, Thailand has been criticized for many years, and has been labeled as a 'China-friendly country' by organizations like CNN and BBC.
Thailand always does things that are considered 'borderline' in a Western perspective. For example, it searches for and arrests people on red lists in China, deportates those who defect against China, expel 'Hong Kong independence' and 'Xinjiang independence' supporters, close exhibitions and events with anti-China tendencies, spend large amounts of money to purchase Chinese military equipment, introduce Chinese companies, and have the head of state welcome Chinese tourists with a smiling face.
However, when looking at Thailand from another angle, it also behaves in a very servile manner towards the Western world, doing many things that we consider to be 'borderline inappropriate'.
They will welcome the American soldiers who have just carried out aggressive massacres as if they were welcoming heroes, and they will be overjoyed at the recognition that a 16-year-old Thai girl has received from the American entertainment industry.
They exchange visits with the Chinese Air Force with their left hands, and conduct military exercises with American forces with their right hands. Last week, they overcame all objections to purchase Chinese submarines. This week, they will once again overcome all objections to purchase American combat vehicles or South Korean warships.
The Indian-Pacific region is coming, and Thailand is joining it; the BRICS countries are coming, and Thailand is joining them. The treaties with the United States will continue to be renewed year after year.
Balancing between Britain and France, balancing between China and the United States, balancing between China and Japan. Open the doors to welcome all directions; everyone who comes is a guest.
As long as it does not endanger one’s own interests or take away jobs in the local area, and does not interfere with Thailand’s independence in basic domestic and foreign affairs—Thailand will treat almost everyone equally.
All comments regarding "China-Thailand are one family" or "USA-Thailand are allies" are both false and true. That's just how Thailand is: it does not reject any requests for friendship, but it will never be trapped in exclusive marriages.
Bangkok welcoming 5,000 US troops is entertainment news, entertainment news that is classified as illegal in some jurisdictions, not political news.
The entire world, including the people of Thailand themselves, views this news in a sly and ambiguous way. They tease the sensational reputation of Thailand as a “world-class tourism center,” using self-deconstruction like “#PattayaIsReady” to create an idealized image of Thailand—one that is apolitical, free and open, lacking moral integrity, yet extremely realistic. This ideal image of Thailand is often portrayed as one that is both honest and hypocritical.
Knowledgeful netizens can find out about the history of Baita's origins.
But once history is misinterpreted and the flattering words of Thai shopkeepers are taken as a sign of loyalty and allegiance to the United States and the Western world in the minds of Thais, then another type of overinterpretation error is committed.
Bangkok, is like a miniature representation of Thailand.
She welcomes everyone, embraces everyone, does not refuse anyone who comes; regards all equally.
She is also vigilant towards everything, keeping a distance from everything, not offending anyone, and never committing herself completely to any one person.
No matter how bright her smile is, no matter how sweet her words, she will never show you her true feelings. The only reason she won’t stab you in the back is that she would not show true affection to your enemies either.
tonight in Pattaya, let whatever needs to happen, happen.
Tomorrow, the sun will rise, and the figure of the young man with his sails will fade into the distance. This city, this country, will once again be cleansed and renewed.
With her charming smile, her graceful manner of greeting and seeing off guests, her professional, calm, practical mindset—she faces merchants from all over the world, as well as powerful forces from East and West.
Attempting to find one's next favorable opportunity in the midst of every counterbalancing force.
Just like this Phuket.
