These days, US President Donald Trump's participation in any summit or international conference is guaranteed to make headlines. It is no longer a given that the world's most powerful country and its leader would automatically attend certain summits as a formality or otherwise to provide an impetus for concerted action and resolve.
As the Asean chair, Thailand's biggest anxiety today is whether Mr Trump will attend a series of Asean-related summits in early November. The Thai Foreign Ministry and its Asean counterparts are consulting and exchanging ideas to make sure that the year-end summit would reaffirm the bloc's centrality and relevancy from the leaders of all dialogue partners.
As his presidency passes through its third year, Mr Trump has yet to make his presence felt among Asean leaders. His inaugural appearance at the Asean Summit in the Philippines was a disappointing one, as he left in the middle of a planned three-day visit, skipping the East Asia Summit with the other 17 leaders. Last year, the Singapore chair was hopeful that after organising a successful summit between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Mr Trump would show his gratitude by returning, but instead he sent Vice President Mike Pence.
To guarantee Mr Trump's participation at the recent G7 summit in Biarritz, France, President Emmanuel Macron decided to add a special session on the global economic situation and skip the planned issuance of a joint communiqué. As such, hosts that want to guarantee Mr Trump's attendance must be warned -- they have to be flexible and quick in designing programmes or activities that would attract his attention as well as boost his self-importance.
The Asean chair still has some time left to convince Mr Trump to come to Bangkok to attend the year-end summit. Here are nine possible reasons:
1. He would be visiting the country that was the first Asian nation to recognise the US in 1833. His presence would further cement Thai-US relations and revitalise the alliance. Thailand was extremely appreciative of Mr Trump's decision to normalise ties in 2017 under the military-led government.
2. Thailand is a neutral ground for all major powers to meet and mingle. Furthermore, the country has just celebrated the coronation of a new king, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as well as a new civilian government after an election. Mr Trump will have the chance to see Bangkok as he has never seen it before: a brilliant and colourful city with good street food and great Korat wagyu hamburgers.
3. Mr Trump would become the first leader to ride the metro under the City of Angels to one of the most beautiful underground stations in the region -- Sanam Chai MRT station. If time allows, he can also go to Chinatown, without waging a war with China, through Wat Mangkon station.
4. The president would have the chance to meet with two former Miss Universes, Apasra Hongsakula (1965) and Porntip Nakhirankranok (1988) for nostalgia's sake, as he used to run the Miss Universe franchise in his previous incarnation.
5. Mr Trump will enjoy the good company of regional leaders. As he has already befriended North Korean leader Mr Kim and found that he was a great guy who could bring richness to his country, Mr Trump would be pleased to know that all the Asean leaders are driving forces in pushing stock market indexes up around the world. He would love Asean leaders, who come in all shapes and sizes with different styles of leadership and governance.
6. Most importantly, Mr Trump would be able to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for as long as he wants without any problems. They can hug and kiss each other without fear. After all, it's Bangkok. At the East Asia Summit, Asean leaders will join their colleagues from the so-called +8 countries -- the US, Russia, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. On the sidelines, the Thai chair has already invited the leaders of France, the UK and Germany to join the pre-EAS luncheon meeting. If Mr Trump wishes to see them, he can attend the lunch. It would be the first time, if all decide to come, that the EAS would have all the world's great powers in one room.
7. Since the EAS is the only leader forum in the Indo-Pacific to discuss strategic matters, Mr Trump could bring up any issue he deemed important and necessary. Although the EAS has six agendas under consideration since its establishment in 2005, critical transnational topics could be raised by any leader taking part. At the November 2014 EAS in in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, former US president Barack Obama brought up the ebola crisis and called for global preventive measures.
8. Mr Trump would be the keynote speaker at the Second Indo-Pacific Economic Forum, which will be attended by top business leaders from the US and Asean. The forum is one of his administration's brainchild to inject money into the region. Since he came to power, he has tried to reduce the US trade deficits by increasing American exports to key Asean partners, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand. Mr Trump must be reminded that Asean investments in the US has created more half a million jobs for his supporters.
9. Finally, once everybody is in Bangkok, Mr Trump would receive a warm welcome from all Asean members and the chair. They bear no grudges against him. After all, Mr Trump has never tweeted any condescending remarks about Asean leaders. It is hoped that after the Bangkok meeting, he will tweet one day: "I would like to invite the Asean leaders to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting and a round of golf with me. Great."
Kavi Chongkittavorn is veteran journalist on regional affairs.