Page 11 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL13

Every democracy has to be suitable for the nation in which it is established. So it’s very much for Thais to decide what form of government, what form of democracy they will have. Thailand has shown in the past that it can successfully function as a democracy. We do hope that Thailand will find its way back to democracy, that Thai people will have opportunities to participate in conversations about the political life of their nation and help decide the future of the nation, which is what democracy is all about. It’s not just about voting. We understand Thailand is facing challenges; some of them are quite big. Democracy is not easy. Nothing valuable is easy. We’re going through it now in America so we know how hard it is to make democracy function.How will a US president from the Democratic or Republican party affect foreign policy? And how might US diplomats around the world need to adjust?Here’s the funny thing about democracy. Who knows? I don’t know what exactly a president from either party would do in foreign policy. But I believe regardless of who the president will be the policies will pretty much remain the same. We’ll still be attached to the same principles when it comes to free speech. We’ll still work to deal with refugee problems, fight terrorism, create stability and prosperity.I believe all that will remain the same. There will be, of course, differences that arise from the major candidates but we’re not yet at the stage to know for sure who will be the candidates for the Democratic and the Republican parties. Once we reach that point and they begin to debate the future of the USA and their foreign policies, we’ll know more what plans each candidate has for the administration after the election in November this year.How does the US government perceive ASEAN?The announcement of the development of the ASEAN Economic Community at the end last year was a big positive step forward for ASEAN that we support. President Obama invited all the leaders of ASEAN to southern California in February precisely to demonstrate that the United States believes in ASEAN. We think it can be a big part of the future success of Southeast Asia. For us, Southeast Asia is increasingly important since so much of the world’s economic dynamism and energy and resources are here. We hope that ASEAN continues to come together in terms of its views and interests, which we think are in the interests of the 600 million people of the 10 nations, and continues to break down the barriers – be it anything, trade or labour – between them and cooperate better together. We want to have a good relationship withElite+ 9