What US President Donald Trump said in Saudi Arabia on May 14 resonates very well in Thailand. Last week in Riyadh, Mr Trump reiterated that the Middle East had changed because "local people did it", and not because "Western countries interfered and told you how to live or run your countries".
Essentially, he promised the Middle East that the US would not lecture them. In addition, Mr Trump reiterated that he does not believe in forcing countries to become democracies or interfering in their internal affairs. It was unexpected that Mr Trump would go this far in describing the outlook of the new US foreign policy.
For the past seven decades, the US has seen itself as the world's model of righteousness. Washington has pushed hard on democracy, human rights, and freedom everywhere. If his words are to be taken seriously, it will mean America, at least under the Trump administration, will no longer pursue the so-called "liberal values-based diplomacy". Instead, it will focus on what is best for the "America First" mantra.
Closer to home, Mr Trump's doctrine towards the Middle East, zeroing in on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, could serve as a good example of the emerging trends in US engagement with other regions.
In Southeast Asia, a myriad of political systems exist and are in play, from communist rule to one-party politics, from absolute monarchy to democracy, among others.
Mr Trump described his approach as "being realistic but sticking to our principles". What is interesting is that his succinct diplomatic commitment came at a time when mid-size states, including developing countries, are conducting some soul-searching in their relations with the US. Thailand and Saudi Arabia are no exception.
It must be said that during the same week in Bangkok, the two countries, namely their leading think-tanks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' International Studies Centre and Saudi Arabia's Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies, held a closed-door discussion on how to strengthen Thai-Saudi relations further.
From 1989 to 2022, their relations were stalled due to the Blue Diamond scandal, which saw Riyadh sever diplomatic ties with Bangkok for three decades. In early 2022, former premier Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman agreed to normalise their relations to bury the past and start anew. Within a few months, the bilateral friendship blossomed across multiple dimensions. With the Trump doctrine, both countries' strategists and experts are now contemplating how to become more strategic in their future collaborative efforts.
Thai foreign policy makers are closely watching US-Saudi ties as their country and Saudi Arabia share a strong tradition of monarchies. Moreover, they are facing similar challenges at home and abroad. The two kingdoms are special friends of the US and on Washington's security and defence, while maintaining extensive economic and trade relations with China.
In their own ways, both nations position themselves as a bridge for the US with other great powers for more dialogue to promote peace and prosperity. Currently, both countries are catching up on three decades of lost opportunities. As they are regional players in their continents, they can learn from one another in their long-standing engagement with the US.
In retrospect, Thai-US ties have always been practical but paradoxical as there have been broad disagreements about values, especially those related to civil and political rights. Recently, the US State Department lashed out at Thailand's treatment of Uyghurs and lese majesté cases. Notably, Washington has often turned a blind eye to other monarchies with similar laws.
Since 1979, the US has urged Thailand to respect people's freedoms. The human rights situation report made the news until Mr Trump's return to power. The annual human trafficking report also pressured Thailand to get its house in order by prosecuting the culprits.
Most notably, every time the Thai military seized power, the US government would take the lead in condemning Thailand and immediately reduce military assistance, but this never reached the point of full-scale sanctions. One area that Washington would not touch is the annual military exercise known as Cobra Gold. Despite critics trying to call off the annual exercises to punish Thailand, especially after the latest coup in 2014, the US decided to continue with the region's biggest multinational military exercise.
Obviously, what benefits the US concretely must be maintained. Truth be told, the Cobra Gold exercise serves mainly the US military command and control capacity for better interoperability among the allies and friends. After all, most of them own and continue to procure US-made arms.
Under Mr Trump, things have changed rapidly. The US State Department still releases reports about human rights in Thailand, but they have become less impactful. Beneath the surface, US military connections with Thailand quietly became stronger. Washington has paid less attention to Thai politics after the latest election. Thailand, which is used to dealing with powerful countries without being told what to do, liked this new approach.
Thailand's new challenge is the tariff war imposed by Mr Trump. The country has enjoyed a huge trade surplus with the US for years. On "Liberation Day", Mr Trump put 36% tariff on all Thai imports, prompting Thailand to rush to the negotiation table with the US. The Paetongtarn government has set up a special task force to tackle the tariff hikes. But Bangkok's eagerness went unheard.
Mr Trump's latest pledge in Riyadh that the US will not lecture on human rights and democracy will affect more than just Thailand and Saudi Arabia. The quasi-non-interference policy is emerging when parenting states are making a comeback and democracy is backsliding. Truth be told, Washington's step back sends a strong message -- do your own thing, we will not get involved.
Even though the US practices a double stance on diplomacy, the same old Western lecture on democracy and human rights still matters and helps uphold its universal values. These lectures somehow put extra international pressure on these parenting countries not to go over the top. It is still early to assess what will happen in the near future.
Suffice it to say that Thailand's and Saudi Arabia's combined experiences provide visible clues related to Mr Trump's diplomatic preponderances. For the time being, both countries have further strengthened their ties with the US while maintaining their own systems of power. However, what will happen in the long run is unclear.