“I wouldn’t look for big changes. We would continue to emphasise relations with Asean [including Thailand],” Davies said, before the result of the US presidential race became known. “Regardless of who becomes the next president, Thailand and the US will remain strong allies.”
He also saw no threats to economic ties, as major American companies would be looking at investing for the long term in the Kingdom.
Thailand and the US established diplomatic relations in 1833.
Davies’s remarks came amid uproar in Thai social media over the impact of a Donald Trump presidency. While Thais residing in the US tended to favour Trump, temporary and prospective visitors were worried about the fallout of the Republican candidate’s victory.
Thai permanent residents in the US said the eight-year era of outgoing Democrat President Barack Obama was “too lenient” towards illegal immigrants, raising fears of domestic terrorism.
“Not taking into account the huge increase in public debt under the Obama administration, many people also dislike Hillary Clinton for her numerous lies,” said one comment to a question posted on the Thai web forum Pantip.com “[Trump] also represents the Republican Party of which I’m a fan.”
But Thais looking at prospects of migrating to the US are worried about the implications of the election result.
“I’m afraid it will be harder for me to find a job after graduation,” said a Thai student in the US who asked not to be named. “Trump often said that immigrants steal jobs from locals. With him coming in, companies may need to prove that they are really unable to hire locals as a legitimate reason to hire expats.”
“I wish to live in the US, find a job there, but I changed my mind when I saw the possibility of Trump coming to power,” said a Thai computer programmer “I’ll have to change my plan.”
“It could be ten times harder to get travel visas to the US,” said a student Chongnang Preechajaroensilp.
The US is home to around 300,000 Thais.
Meanwhile, the US presidential election watch was organised yesterday at the Ambassador’s Residence in Bangkok, where more than 160 university students and officers from 10 diplomatic corps gathered to follow the vote counting.
Eager students at the event said that although the US and Thailand systems were quite different, they could see a sense of public commitment to politics in the US, which they felt could be adapted to strengthen democratic forces in Thailand.
“Neither of the candidates is a big favourite but we learn that Americans respect rules and the system must go on,” said Chakariya Cheewatara, a political science student from Chulalongkorn University.
“Americans are really alert when it comes to election. It could be because it’s the mother system of the US,” said Junjira Kuratham, political science student from Ramkhamhaeng University “I would like to see the same energy in Thai people, too,”
“American political culture is a good takeaway,” said Thammasat Univeristy law alumni Siravich Teevakul. “Political gatherings there are very consistent. It runs in their blood. Civilised politics is an indicator of a democratic process. And we really should look at politics from more systematic angles.”
Meanwhile, Richard Graves, vice chairman of Democrats Abroad Thailand, told The Nation that the result was a big surprise for him.
He said that while many Americans craved change, they were not discreet about what they were changing to. Graves said he did not think Trump would be able to fulfil many of his promises and may not win the next election.
Clinton’s defeat, he said, could be a result of sexism. Graves observed the fact that Clinton was an extremely intelligent and successful woman offended many people.
Graves reiterated that the election result showed many people in the US thought the system was not working for them so they strongly wanted change. And Trump was the person who had successfully persuaded them that he could bring about the change they were seeking.
Though the result may upset many Democrat supporters, Graves said he did not think democratic values in the US society would be destroyed. He said he believed people still had strong faith in democracy and it was unlikely that this election would create a deep divide in the society.
Democrats Abroad Thailand is a group of Democrat supporters living in Thailand. Some 50 members of the club yesterday gathered at a bar in Silom to watch live TV updates on the vote counting.