August 01, 2026
Donald Trump Is Missing Thailand’s Strategic Moment
This article was originally published in The National Interest.
Since he returned to office, President Donald Trump has visited Southeast Asia only once, and he went to Malaysia for the ASEAN summit Kuala Lumpur hosted last year. But while on the ground, he inked multiple deals with various ASEAN members, including US security ally Thailand, to shore up US interests amid intensifying strategic competition with China.
As China expands its economic footprint across mainland Southeast Asia, Washington must demonstrate that it can also be Thailand’s partner of choice for trade, investment, and energy security.
Both nations agreed to collaborate on critical minerals supply chains and to promote investment in their respective economies. Yet, this agreement received relatively little attention, overshadowed by Trump’s prominent role in announcing the Thailand-Cambodia peace agreement, which brought a temporary end to months of escalating border hostilities.
Read the full article in The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
China Presses a Weakness in America’s Tech Policy
Commentary
America’s semiconductor strategy now must confront not only who controls the factories, tools, and materials required to make chips, but also who controls the language those c...
By David Feith
-
CNAS Insights | Japan isn’t rearming. It’s adapting to a new era.
CNAS Insights
Japan’s defense posture is changing and changing fast. Military spending has increased sharply over the past four years. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are acquiring long-r...
By Richard Fontaine
-
Tale as Old as Time: Security, Strategy, and U.S.-ASEAN Statecraft
Video
Everyone wants the U.S. race car. Who's willing to wait for it? On this month's episode of Bottom Line with USABC, President & CEO Amb. Brian McFeeters sits down with Lindsey ...
By Lindsey Ford
-
Sorry, Europe: Trump Has Found Better Allies in Asia
Commentary
Trump may think his European partners are not worth more than a few days of summitry. He cannot think the same about the U.S.’s golden allies in Asia....
By Derek Grossman
