 Thailand, a U.S. treaty ally, last month announced its own bid to join BRICS, named after members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The bloc represents a South-South cooperative framework which Thailand has long desired to be a part of, their foreign minister told reporters. For countries seeking to mitigate the economic risks of intensifying U.S.-China competition, joining BRICS is an attempt to straddle some of those tensions.