Phumtham confident Trump’s policies won’t affect Thailand’s security

Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said he was optimistic that US President Donald Trump would not affect Thailand’s security.

“Trump has revealed many policies to media outlets. But in terms of security, we haven’t seen clearly whether his actions will affect us,” he said.

He said it depends on Trump whether his policies will affect Thai security, emphasising that this issue is all about the relationship between Thailand and the US.Thailand has a clear policy to maintain balance in relationships with superpowers in Asia, he asserted, adding that Thailand is only a small country that won’t seek conflict with others.

Phumtham added that US ambassador Robert F Godec had invited him to board the USS Carl Vinson, revealing that the US would fly him on a helicopter to the aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Thailand.He said he would be the first defence minister to be invited for dining with the US Fifth Fleet commander, adding that they had met each other during the defence ministerial meeting in Laos.

“Now there’s nothing to worry about the relationship between the two countries, and we will try to maintain a balance in relationships with superpowers,” he said.

(2025/01/24-00:00)