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| Barack Obama has Bangkok in a froth on south-east Asia trip | Barack Obama has Bangkok in a froth on south-east Asia trip |
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| He has long been called a "rock star president" and there was lots of fuss in Thailand preceding US president Barack Obama's first visit to Bangkok on Sunday. Preparations for the visit have dominated local news for the past week: with security agents on rooftops, sniffer dogs on the ground and a Thai military band learning The Star-Spangled Banner in readiness for the first stop in Obama's three-country tour of the region that underscores his interest in pivoting US foreign policy towards the Pacific. | He has long been called a "rock star president" and there was lots of fuss in Thailand preceding US president Barack Obama's first visit to Bangkok on Sunday. Preparations for the visit have dominated local news for the past week: with security agents on rooftops, sniffer dogs on the ground and a Thai military band learning The Star-Spangled Banner in readiness for the first stop in Obama's three-country tour of the region that underscores his interest in pivoting US foreign policy towards the Pacific. |
| More than 1,000 American security guards and 500 Thai soldiers and police were on hand to protect the most powerful man on the planet as he toured Bangkok's most famous temple, Wat Pho, with secretary of state Hillary Clinton before meeting Thailand's ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 84, and holding talks with Thailand's prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. Obama said it was "no accident" that he chose south-east Asia as his first trip abroad since re-election and he played up the friendship between Thailand and America, which has lasted almost 180 years. | More than 1,000 American security guards and 500 Thai soldiers and police were on hand to protect the most powerful man on the planet as he toured Bangkok's most famous temple, Wat Pho, with secretary of state Hillary Clinton before meeting Thailand's ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 84, and holding talks with Thailand's prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. Obama said it was "no accident" that he chose south-east Asia as his first trip abroad since re-election and he played up the friendship between Thailand and America, which has lasted almost 180 years. |
| "The United States is and always will be a Pacific nation," he told a group of Thai and foreign reporters at a joint press conference with Yingluck. "As the fastest growing region in the world, Asia-Pacific will shape much of our security and prosperity in the century ahead, and it is critical to creating jobs and opportunities for the American people." | "The United States is and always will be a Pacific nation," he told a group of Thai and foreign reporters at a joint press conference with Yingluck. "As the fastest growing region in the world, Asia-Pacific will shape much of our security and prosperity in the century ahead, and it is critical to creating jobs and opportunities for the American people." |
| Many political analysts, however, see America's renewed interest in the region as a strategic game in holding off China's influence. Both superpowers consider Thailand to be the region's "pivot country". | Many political analysts, however, see America's renewed interest in the region as a strategic game in holding off China's influence. Both superpowers consider Thailand to be the region's "pivot country". |
| "If Obama is going to succeed in broadening and cementing the Asian pivot and rebalance, he needs the co-operation of allies and partners … [and] the most non-performing ally is Thailand," said Thitinan Ponsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies. "Thailand has [recently] been leaning more towards Beijing, and the Chinese know it." | "If Obama is going to succeed in broadening and cementing the Asian pivot and rebalance, he needs the co-operation of allies and partners … [and] the most non-performing ally is Thailand," said Thitinan Ponsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies. "Thailand has [recently] been leaning more towards Beijing, and the Chinese know it." |
| Obama won giggles from the Thai media after saying "hello" and "thank you" in Thai, as well as acknowledging that Thai cuisine was one of his favourites. But he will have to work a bit harder at his Burmese before Monday's trip to Rangoon, as he mispronounced Aung San Suu Kyi's name twice while discussing her role in promoting democracy in the former pariah nation. | Obama won giggles from the Thai media after saying "hello" and "thank you" in Thai, as well as acknowledging that Thai cuisine was one of his favourites. But he will have to work a bit harder at his Burmese before Monday's trip to Rangoon, as he mispronounced Aung San Suu Kyi's name twice while discussing her role in promoting democracy in the former pariah nation. |
| While Obama's talks with Yingluck were serious, the preparations were comical at times. Security agents inspecting Government House before the press conference mistook the giant water lizards that often wander the grounds for man-eating komodo dragons. And nearly 200 years of friendship between Thailand and America meant nothing to the Thai and American security dogs, which growled at one another like old enemies. At Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (pictured), Obama was overheard jokingly telling the monk who served as his tour guide: "We're working on this budget; we're going to need a lot of prayer for that." | While Obama's talks with Yingluck were serious, the preparations were comical at times. Security agents inspecting Government House before the press conference mistook the giant water lizards that often wander the grounds for man-eating komodo dragons. And nearly 200 years of friendship between Thailand and America meant nothing to the Thai and American security dogs, which growled at one another like old enemies. At Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (pictured), Obama was overheard jokingly telling the monk who served as his tour guide: "We're working on this budget; we're going to need a lot of prayer for that." |
| The news that Obama's drinking water was being imported – out of concerns over potential poisoning or contamination – became the topic of parody in the English-language daily newspaper, the Nation. Its political cartoonist Stephff sketched bald and beefy Secret Service agents with frothing mouths and guns in hand, readily assaulting innocent waiters offering glasses of water to the president. | The news that Obama's drinking water was being imported – out of concerns over potential poisoning or contamination – became the topic of parody in the English-language daily newspaper, the Nation. Its political cartoonist Stephff sketched bald and beefy Secret Service agents with frothing mouths and guns in hand, readily assaulting innocent waiters offering glasses of water to the president. |
| A Bangkok party on Sunday was Obama's last chance to let his hair down before his trip to Rangoon, followed by meetings at the East Asia summit in Cambodia. But fellow guest Thitinan Ponsudhirak said it was highly unlikely the closed gala would be "anywhere near rockstar calibre" even though the menu featured tom yum soup and grilled freshwater lobster prepared by chefs from the five-star Mandarin Oriental. "It will be very official and very formal. The world is not always exciting – sometimes things are just formal and routine," Thitinan said. | A Bangkok party on Sunday was Obama's last chance to let his hair down before his trip to Rangoon, followed by meetings at the East Asia summit in Cambodia. But fellow guest Thitinan Ponsudhirak said it was highly unlikely the closed gala would be "anywhere near rockstar calibre" even though the menu featured tom yum soup and grilled freshwater lobster prepared by chefs from the five-star Mandarin Oriental. "It will be very official and very formal. The world is not always exciting – sometimes things are just formal and routine," Thitinan said. |
| Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images | Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images |
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