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The Kingdom is shifting eastward to China as US diplomatic policy towards Thailand grows coldMr Lyman believes it is time for critics to stop talking. “Let’s calm frayed nerves, assuage quick tempers, ask the players to keep their mouths tightly zipped shut and get on with the stated objective of supporting Thailand in its quest for sorely needed reforms to its systems, its infrastructure, its political societies, thorough a Thai originated solution. That will be a win-win scenario.”Mr Zawacki, however, believes anti-American sentiment over the past decade has had a long-term impact. The Kingdom is shifting eastward to China as US diplomatic policy towards Thailand grows cold. Such a drift might have a long-term effect on geopolitics in Asia and Southeast Asia, including on America’s counter-terrorism mission and future economic cooperation. But that does not mean that the dragon will replace the eagle in terms of Thai diplomaticpriority. “I am not saying that China will replace the US, because both Thailand and the US do not desire this,” he said.Mr Zawacki is completing a book titled Continental Drift: Thailand at the Turn of a Sino-American Century. While critics have seen Thailand’s politics and coups as a course of diplomatic estrangement, the book argues that the seeds of discontent were sowed in the 1997 economic crisis – when Washington reacted arrogantly towards Thailand, its old Asian ally. It took over 10 months before the US could provide financial help, while China quickly pledged US$1 billion. This was small compared to the eventual $17 billion rescue package from the IMF, yet was enough to cement China’s status as a friend. Bilateral exchanges between Thailand and China have since skyrocketed – 1,500 officialElite+ 17