In remarks prior to their meeting at the White House on Monday (local time in Washington DC), Trump wasted no time in pressing for more sales of US goods to Thailand.

“I do want to say that our relationship on trade – and we’ve been negotiating very long and hard, and we’re meeting with our representatives in a little while to go further. But our relationship on trade is becoming more and more important. And it [Thailand]’s a great country to trade with; they make products and different things that are really very important to us, and we likewise sell to you,” Trump said.

“I think we’re going to try and sell a little bit more to you now, make that a little bit better if that’s possible. But we have a big, full period of time scheduled with our two staffs.”

Meanwhile Prime Minister Prayut expressed his condolences to the victims and families of the shooting tragedy on Monday in Las Vegas, as well as to victims and families affected by the hurricanes that lashed US states and Puerto Rico.

The Thai premier commended the contributions of first lady Melania Trump and Trump’s daughter.

“I also would like to commend the first lady on playing such a vital role in looking after those who have less opportunity. Of course, your daughter also worked very closely in order to tackle the problem. I know that she has developed an interest to solve issues of women and children. Thailand stands ready to work closely with the first lady and with Mr President of course,” Prayut told Trump via an interpreter.

Trump, however, dwelled a lot on his upcoming trip to Puerto Rico and the bloody massacre in Las Vegas.

“Tomorrow [Tuesday] morning, early, I’ll be leaving for Puerto Rico with the First Lady. We are going to be seeing all of the first responders, the military, FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency], and, frankly, most importantly, we’re going to be seeing the people of Puerto Rico.

“We’ve been very – I mean, I think we’ve been – it’s been amazing what’s been done in a very short period of time on Puerto Rico. There’s never been a piece of land that we’ve known that was so devastated. The bridges are down, the telecommunications nonexistent, and it’s in very, very bad shape. The electrical grid, as you know, was totally destroyed.

“But we’ve gotten tremendous amounts of food and water, and lots of other things – supplies – generally speaking, on the island. So, we’re going to be going tomorrow morning, first thing, very early.

“We’re also going to be meeting with Governor [Kenneth] Mapp of US Virgin Islands. He’s going to probably, because of the difficulty in getting in to Virgin Islands, he’s probably going to meet us in Puerto Rico.”

“And then, very importantly also, on Wednesday morning, very early, we’re going to be leaving for Las Vegas, where we’re going to be seeing the governor, who I just spoke to; the mayor – governor of the state – the mayor of Las Vegas, who I just spoke to; the sheriff, who has done such a great job; the police department has done such a fantastic job in terms of the speed, and we all very much appreciate it.

“So, we’ll be going to Puerto Rico tomorrow. And on Wednesday, we will be going to, as you know, as I just said, we’ll be going to Las Vegas on a very, very sad –it’s a very sad moment for me, for everybody. For everybody, no matter where you are, no matter what your thought process, this is a very, very sad day.

“So, we’re going to be doing that on Wednesday. And we’ll be spending the full day there, and maybe longer than that,” he said.

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told accompanying reporters that Thailand is willing to buy some 50,000-60,000 tonnes of coal from the US.

Prayut began by offering his condolences to Trump on the disasters caused by hurricanes hitting Texas and Puerto Rico towards which the Thai government and the private sector had sent humanitarian assistance. The PM said Thailand was ready to do more, according to the Thai Government House.

“The US president welcomed Prayut and his delegation while affirming development and continuation in trade relations, highlighting the wide potential of Thailand,” Government House said.

Prayut is leading a Thai delegation, mostly comprising economic officials, as part of a three-day visit to the US at the invitation of Trump.

The Thai government expects the visit to yield more opportunities for trade and investment under the Trump administration policy of benefit-based cooperation with foreign countries.

The US has been eager for dialogue with countries in East and Southeast Asia on rising regional tensions, particularly nuclear proliferation in the Korean peninsula.

Prayut is the third Asean member country leader to meet Trump after Vietnam’s Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Trump is also scheduled to attend the Asean Summit next month.

They have asked the international policing body to issue the notice in 192 countries.

Deputy national police spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said Thai police expect Interpol to take the next “more serious” step in their investigation.

Interpol notices are alerts, or requests for cooperation, sent to police in member countries. The blue notice would notify countries to “collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities”.

The “blue notice” is one step behind the most serious “red notice” where member countries are asked to “seek … and arrest the wanted person”.

Thai police have also contacted authorities in the United Kingdom, where some sources have said Yingluck is seeking political asylum. They have yet to hear back from UK authorities, Krissana said.

The UK is believed to be Yingluck’s final destination after she initially fled to Dubai. The Thai Consulate General in Dubai refused to comment on Yingluck’s case when contacted by The Nation.

Yingluck fled on August 23, two days before she was due at the Supreme Court to hear the final ruling in her trial for malfeasance related to her government’s controversial rice-pledging scheme.

It is believed she rode in two sedans from her Bangkok residence to Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet district which borders Cambodia.

Three policemen were found to be involved in Yingluck’s escape, including Pol Colonel Chairit Anurit, who has confessed to driving the former PM and her secretary on that day.

Chairit yesterday submitted additional documents to police on the use of the Toyota Camry sedan, which was not registered in the Department of Land Transport’s system.

Chairit’s documents, together with DNA samples taken from the Camry and those found on Yingluck’s belongings, will be crucial evidence in the case, said deputy Metropolitan police commissioner Pol Maj-General Panurat Lakboon yesterday.

The DNA result should be available in a day or two, said Panurat, who also leads a fact-finding committee into Chairit’s involvement in the case.

If Chairit is found guilty of committing a criminal offence, the case would proceed to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

If he is found to have committed a lesser disciplinary offence, the case would be forwarded to the Metropolitan Division 5, where Chairit had served as a deputy commissioner.

Groups causing concern were operating from overseas as well as the three deep South provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, including anti-monarchy groups and other parties seeking to cause disturbances.

The premier has assigned the military, police, the National Security Council and the National Intelligence Agency to gather information and prepare countermeasures, the source said.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan yesterday chaired a meeting of authorities involved in organising the Royal Cremation.

“I’m concerned with any possibility of chaos that might happen before or during the cremation,” he said. “I have ordered full reinforcements after receiving information that there are some ill-intentioned groups inside and outside the country that may be prepared to create a disturbance during the event.”

About 250,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony at Sanam Luang at the end of this month, Prawit said.

He added that the cremation would be “one of the greatest events in the world”, so authorities would exert their best efforts.

Security officials have detected signs on social media of plans to provoke public disturbances during the week of the funeral for the late King, and have issued warnings against suspected perpetrators.

Army Chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart said the people who sought to provoke public disturbances had already been accused of violating the lese majeste law, and subsequently fled the country.

He did not name the people but there are a number of academics and activists who have sought asylum in foreign countries after being charged with insulting the monarchy.

The army chief added that security officers would be on full alert and there was nothing to worry about as the public would help officials to monitor for possible disturbances.

The cremation of the late monarch, he added, was a most significant event for all Thais, and officers would continue to take care of security issues, especially in and around the funeral compound.

Prawit was in overall charge of security matters, Chalermchai said. Police officers would take care of security matters around the compound, while the military would support them with intelligence sharing, he said, adding that officials would focus suppression efforts primarily on targets who had already been identified.

Thida Thavornseth, a key leader of the opposition red-shirt group, meanwhile said the government should stop stirring up the issue of turbulence during the important month.

She added that if there were any trouble, it would not be caused by red-shirt supporters.

If government critics had wanted to cause trouble, they would have done it long ago and not waited until three years after the military coup, she said. However, she added that authorities’ discrimination against certain groups harmed national unity.

Panthongtae, the son of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Kanchana and Wanchai Honghern, and Kesinee Jipipop are potentially facing criminal charges in connection with receiving two cheques – one for Bt10 million and the other for Bt26 million – from former top executives of the Krisda Mahanakorn Group.

According to the DSI, state-owned Krungthai Bank faced multi-billion-baht financial damages from loans to Krisda Mahanakorn Group that used highly inflated collateral. It is alleged that money from those loans was given illegally to many people and entities.

Panthongtae and the three others are required to report to the DSI by October 24. After they are questioned, the agency will decide whether to pursue money-laundering and related charges against them.

Money-laundering cases have a 15-year statute of limitations, so the DSI is required to close its investigation by the middle of next year. Earlier, Panthongtae wrote in a Facebook post that he was the victim of a witch-hunt. He argued that more than 200 other people and organisations had received money from Krisda Mahanakorn’s top executives, but they were not being investigated.

The presence of Somchai Jitsuchon and Chatchart Sittipan on the committee that is putting together a 20-year national strategy would have been to the greater good of the nation, said Wissanu.

Despite their rejection, the government had not lost face, said the deputy PM, who added that he did not think that political game playing was behind their decisions to decline the posts.

The names of the two appeared in the announcement of the committee published in the Royal Gazette last week, but both had asked to resign from the posts shortly after.

Wissanu said he had on Sunday acknowledged their bowing out. He was rather disappointed in their decision because the government had looked forward to their contributions of intellect, vision and strategy, he said.

“But it’s alright. I have sympathy for them,” Wissanu said.

The deputy PM denied speculation that the attempt to include former transport minister Chatchart was motivated by a desire to seek the cooperation of dissident groups.

The government had focused only on his attributes, Wissanu said. Chatchart was well known for his expertise about public infrastructure.

Last week, Wissanu had confirmed that Chatchart, who had served under Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration and was very much admired by Pheu Thai Party supporters, had agreed to join the junta-initiated national strategy committee. The former transport minister subsequently met with fierce criticism and announced late on Saturday night via Facebook that it was not the case.

In his account, Chatchart said he had not agreed to take the post. He already had a full-time job in a public company, he wrote, in addition to perhaps not quite understanding the national strategy as currently floated.

Wissanu later admitted that he had not personally discussed the matter with Chatchart, but rather communicated through a coordinator.

“There’s nothing more to say. If they do not accept the positions, so be it,” Wissanu said. “I admit that it’s a shame and I’m disappointed. But it’s alright. I can understand.”

It was rather common that some people reject appointments to posts, the deputy PM said. In the case of Somchai, who is a research director at Thailand Development Research Institute, taking the position was against his office rules, he said.

All members recruited to the national strategy committee had been well chosen, said Wissanu. It was not about connection or politics, he stressed, adding that the government would later clarify why each member had been selected once the panels were fully formed.

Additional people could be invited to sit, as long as the number of members of each panel does not exceed 15, he said. But it would not be completed this week, he added.

Army Chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart said on Monday that those seeking to provoke a public disturbance were in fact the same group of people who were accused of having violated the KIngdom’s lese majeste law, and who had subsequently fled the country.

He stressed that security officers were on full alert, and there should be nothing to worry about as people would also help them by keeping their eyes open for anyone with ill intent.

The funeral of the late monarch, he added, was a most significant event for all Thais, and officers would continue to take care of security issues, especially in and around the funeral compound.

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan is in overall charge of security matters, he said.

Police officers will be the prime force tasked with taking care of security matters around the compound, while the military will support them with intelligence, Chalermchai said, adding that they would focus their suppression effort primarily on certain known targets.

Wissanu was responding amid moves to revoke Yingluck’s passport following her flight from justice shortly before being convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the Supreme Court for negligence in her government’s rice-pledging scheme.

The Thai passports of her brother, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, were revoked in 2015 after he gave a press interview in South Korea. The Foreign Ministry said then that the ex-PM’s remarks were a threat to national security.

Yingluck disappeared a day or two before the Supreme Court was due to the read the verdict in her case.

While she has the constitutional right to appeal, the recently enacted bill on political office holders’ in criminal cases would require her to personally file the appeal, Wissanu said.

Reacting to reports that Yingluck might seek political asylum in the UK, Wissanu said it was debatable whether she qualified for political asylum.

“If her argument was that she was overthrown [in a coup], she could have made a case if had she chosen to flee then,” he said. “But she fled recently. It is another case. I don’t know if she still can cite that reason”.

WHILE GOVERNMENT officials have said they will focus on economic matters during a top-level Thailand-US meeting at the White House today, it is security concerns, particularly relating to Thailand’s logistics role regarding the US on rising tensions in East Asia, that should be watched closely, academics believe.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha leads a Thai delegation, dominated by high-level economic officials, to Washington for a three-day visit. Starting today, he will meet with US President Donald Trump, who invited the Thai junta leader during a phone call in April.

Trump and Prayut would discuss ways to strengthen and broaden bilateral relations and enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a White House statement.

While economic issues such as the Thai trade surplus, intellectual property (IP) and drug patents may be raised again after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s meeting with Prayut in July, the principal significance will be rapprochement between the two countries amid rising regional tensions.

Thanet Aphornsuwan, an expert on US politics at Thammasat University, believes the US might consider the long-term benefits of mobilising military forces in the strategically important Southeast Asia region, in the event of an escalation in tensions.

This could also involve places located near or in Thailand, such as the Strait of Malacca or the proposed Kra Isthmus Canal, Thanet said. “Whatever Thailand decides or does to affect these areas, the US will tend to be interested and take part in,” he said.

The US might make deals not only to ensure its security in these hotspots but also to revitalise a strategic partnership status with Thailand, which since the 2014 coup has leaned towards China, the dominant power in East and Southeast Asia.

Thailand’s close relationship with China already includes that country’s One Belt One Road initiative, which has offered the Kingdom several projects, including the potential construction of the Kra Isthamus Canal and the high-speed rail line, said Naresuan University lecturer Paul Chambers.

While Trump’s administration points to bilateral interests, its decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and cut assistance to developing countries had only served to move Thailand closer to China, Chambers said.

Nevertheless, Trump’s emphasis on greater collaboration in economic matters, as well as mutual geopolitical interests, while putting aside human rights concerns, should encourage Thailand to push for enhanced trade and investment cooperation, he said.

“For Prayut especially, the visit marks a personal victory of legitimacy for a coup-born PM who was regularly criticised by the [Barack] Obama administration,” Chambers added.

Prayut’s visit to Washington has been viewed as a turning point for relations between the two countries since they soured following the 2014 coup.

“The most important aspect of this visit is that it is a turning point in the relationship after the two countries had almost have no formal contact over the past few years,” said Kobsak Pootrakool, vice minister for the PM’s Office Minister.

Kobsak said he expected Prayut’s Washington visit to yield more trade and investment between the two countries.

“US investors may feel more comfortable about doing business with Thai counterparts and the US government welcomes the Thai government,” said Kobsak, referring to the relationship being downgraded following the coup.

Prior to Prayut’s trip to Washington, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met with Prayut and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak at Government House last week.

Somkid said the two sides agreed to establish a committee to look at market openings for US pork.

Thailand also proposed that a dialogue mechanism be put in place to help the parties strengthen future cooperation.

Somkid invited US investors who accompanied Ross to invest in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) initiative and he planned to meet US businesspeople in Washington.

IP protection is another matter expected to be raised at the Prayut-Trump meeting.

A source said the Commerce Ministry had prepared information relating to the progress of Thailand’s efforts to address IP-related issues, including a crackdown on counterfeit and pirated goods.

The US still has Thailand on its so-called Priority Watch List, claiming inadequate and ineffective IP protection in the country, while demanding a fair and equitable market access in Thailand.

The Trump administration has also launched an investigation into the US trade deficit with Thailand. For its part, the Thai government hopes the US removes Thailand from its Priority Watch List and restrains from trade retaliation.

WHILE GOVERNMENT officials have said they will focus on economic matters during a top-level Thailand-US meeting at the White House today, it is security concerns, particularly relating to Thailand’s logistics role regarding the US on rising tensions in East Asia, that should be watched closely, academics believe.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha leads a Thai delegation, dominated by high-level economic officials, to Washington for a three-day visit. Starting today, he will meet with US President Donald Trump, who invited the Thai junta leader during a phone call in April.

Trump and Prayut would discuss ways to strengthen and broaden bilateral relations and enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, according to a White House statement.

While economic issues such as the Thai trade surplus, intellectual property (IP) and drug patents may be raised again after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s meeting with Prayut in July, the principal significance will be rapprochement between the two countries amid rising regional tensions.

Thanet Aphornsuwan, an expert on US politics at Thammasat University, believes the US might consider the long-term benefits of mobilising military forces in the strategically important Southeast Asia region, in the event of an escalation in tensions.

This could also involve places located near or in Thailand, such as the Strait of Malacca or the proposed Kra Isthmus Canal, Thanet said. “Whatever Thailand decides or does to affect these areas, the US will tend to be interested and take part in,” he said.

The US might make deals not only to ensure its security in these hotspots but also to revitalise a strategic partnership status with Thailand, which since the 2014 coup has leaned towards China, the dominant power in East and Southeast Asia.

Thailand’s close relationship with China already includes that country’s One Belt One Road initiative, which has offered the Kingdom several projects, including the potential construction of the Kra Isthamus Canal and the high-speed rail line, said Naresuan University lecturer Paul Chambers.

While Trump’s administration points to bilateral interests, its decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and cut assistance to developing countries had only served to move Thailand closer to China, Chambers said.

Nevertheless, Trump’s emphasis on greater collaboration in economic matters, as well as mutual geopolitical interests, while putting aside human rights concerns, should encourage Thailand to push for enhanced trade and investment cooperation, he said.

“For Prayut especially, the visit marks a personal victory of legitimacy for a coup-born PM who was regularly criticised by the [Barack] Obama administration,” Chambers added.

Prayut’s visit to Washington has been viewed as a turning point for relations between the two countries since they soured following the 2014 coup.

“The most important aspect of this visit is that it is a turning point in the relationship after the two countries had almost have no formal contact over the past few years,” said Kobsak Pootrakool, vice minister for the PM’s Office Minister.

Kobsak said he expected Prayut’s Washington visit to yield more trade and investment between the two countries.

“US investors may feel more comfortable about doing business with Thai counterparts and the US government welcomes the Thai government,” said Kobsak, referring to the relationship being downgraded following the coup.

Prior to Prayut’s trip to Washington, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met with Prayut and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak at Government House last week.

Somkid said the two sides agreed to establish a committee to look at market openings for US pork.

Thailand also proposed that a dialogue mechanism be put in place to help the parties strengthen future cooperation.

Somkid invited US investors who accompanied Ross to invest in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) initiative and he planned to meet US businesspeople in Washington.

IP protection is another matter expected to be raised at the Prayut-Trump meeting.

A source said the Commerce Ministry had prepared information relating to the progress of Thailand’s efforts to address IP-related issues, including a crackdown on counterfeit and pirated goods.

The US still has Thailand on its so-called Priority Watch List, claiming inadequate and ineffective IP protection in the country, while demanding a fair and equitable market access in Thailand.

The Trump administration has also launched an investigation into the US trade deficit with Thailand. For its part, the Thai government hopes the US removes Thailand from its Priority Watch List and restrains from trade retaliation.