If they needed a neutral buffer state, why did they keep making it smaller? Really, they just needed to avoid getting surprised by the other being too quick to

If they needed a neutral buffer state, why did they keep making it smaller? Really, they just needed to avoid getting surprised by the other being too quick to colonize and presenting a fait accompli before they got the opportunity to grab some bits for themselves. The declaration of 1896 was followed up by the Entente Cordiale of 1904, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Entente_Cordiale https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Entente_Cordiale that divided Siam into spheres of influence, "disclaiming all idea of annexing any Siamese territory." Of course this was preceded by France annexing some Siamese territory earlier in 1904 and followed by France in 1907 and Britain in 1909 annexing even more territory. There's really no need to explain a supposedly unusual reluctance by colonial powers to encroach on Siam, when they were doing just that, at their usual pace. It's not like they could roll in with tanks (that hadn't been invented yet) and take over the entire country in a few days. It took centuries to expand their empires to their maximum size, they could afford a few decades more. (Or so they thought. Then the tides turned towards decolonization.)