The coming month is an important one in the relations with the Kingdom of Thailand and the United States — and with Hawai'i. On March 20, the United States and Thailand will celebrate the 175th anniversary of their formal relationship, the oldest one between the U.S. and any nation in Asia. And here in Hawai'i, Thai princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will perpetuate a longstanding royal connection between Thailand and the Islands when she visits Honolulu to rededicate a traditional Thai pavilion and receive the East-West Center's Asia-Pacific Community-Building Award on behalf of her father, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

U.S. relations with Thailand, known as Siam prior to 1949, preceded those with China and Japan, because it was relatively more open. Sea captain Edmund Roberts, who negotiated the 1833 Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the U.S. and Siam, had hoped to also open relations with other Asian nations, but made no headway. In the 175 years since the treaty, the bilateral relationship has been one of the most consistently positive of any U.S. foreign relationship, despite occasional tensions.

There have also been some unusual twists and turns. Two examples: The first offer of economic assistance came from the Siamese side in the late 1850s, when King Mongkut offered elephants for work and transportation. The story that this was to be a gift of war elephants for the Civil War is apocryphal, but President Lincoln did write back, politely declining with the explanation that the U.S. climate might be too severe.

And under Japanese duress, Thailand declared war on the United States shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack. But the Thai minister in Washington, acting on his own, refused to deliver the declaration. The result was that the United States never recognized the countries to be at war, and treated Thailand generously when peace was restored. This contrasted with the British, who sought reparations.

Thailand and the United States became formal security allies during the Cold War, and at the height of the Vietnam War some 50,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Thailand. Today, there is no permanent troop presence, but Thailand remains among the closest U.S. security partners as a "major non-NATO ally." This status, accorded in 2003, allows Thailand preferential access to military aid and reflects its support in the struggle against terrorism.

In contrast to the Cold War era, however, today's Thai-U.S. relations are about much more than security, since educational, cultural, investment and trade links of $25 billion annually have become the dominant dimensions of relations.

Hawai'i's own relationship with Thailand began during the monarchy, when King Kalakaua visited his Siamese counterpart during his celebrated trip around the world in 1881. Although traveling modestly on a commercial steamer, the Hawaiian king was met as his ship neared, brought into Bangkok on the royal barge, and lavishly received by King Chulalongkorn, who had been tipped off about Kalakaua's arrival by the Siamese representative in Hong Kong.

The first return visit by Thai royalty came in 1931, when King Prajadhipok passed briefly through Hawai'i and was entertained at the villa of Walter Dillingham, now La Pietra school. Then, in 1960 and again in 1967, came visits by the present King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. It was on the second occasion that they dedicated a sala, or traditional Thai pavilion, that the king had arranged to have shipped to the East-West Center as a gift.

The sala, which was given the formal name of Pratinang Patiharn Tasanai, or "Throne of the Miracle Vision," was one of only four such pavilions outside of Thailand to bear the king's own royal seal, and the only one dedicated by him personally. It became a landmark on campus and a symbol of Thai-U.S. relations.

Because the original sala was built of soft wood that deteriorated with age and weather conditions, the EWC and Thai government reconstructed it in 2006 under auspices of His Majesty. The beautiful new structure was built of solid teak and painted in gold under the direction of celebrated Thai national artist/architect Dr. Pinyo Suwankiri.

While the Royal Sala Thai is the most visible symbol of Thailand in Hawai'i, where the local Thai community numbers around 1,800, there are many other connections. These include the annual Cobra Gold military exercises, which Pacom and the Thai military jointly plan and execute, as well as numerous academic ties. For example, the University of Hawai'i helped advise Thailand's community college system, and the UH School of Travel Industry Management has a research office in Bangkok. The Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, the Center for Excellence and the Maui-based Pacific Disaster Center are among other Hawai'i institutions with close Thai connections.

The East-West Center's many links with Thailand include a long partnership with the Thai Red Cross to fight HIV/AIDS, teacher exchanges involving schools in Thailand's troubled southern provinces, and cooperative research on land-cover change and its implications in the northern provinces. In January, the EWC and the National Press Council of Thailand convened the first Asia-Pacific Media Conference in Bangkok, and, in May, Mahidol University and the EWC will inaugurate the first South East Asia human rights institute.

But perhaps the strongest connection is one of spirit, embodied in the words of His Majesty King Bhumibol when he dedicated the original sala in 1967.

"It is my wish that this pavilion may serve as (a) symbol of universal hospitality and brotherhood at this center," he said. "Let it be a haven of love and understanding for all travelers from East and West."

Charles E. Morrison is president of the East-West Center, an education and research organization in Honolulu that was established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the United States. Reach him at morrisoc@EastWestCenter.org.