By ASSOCIATED PRESS and DAILY MAIL REPORTER
President Obama is practicing a new brand of foreign relations,
appearing to flirt with Thailand’s attractive prime minister on his
first stop of his three-day tour of Southeast Asia.
The president and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra could be seen
laughing together and exchanging playful glances throughout a state
dinner at the Government House in Bangkok on Sunday night.
They were joined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who toasted to the U.S.-Thailand friendship with Shinawatra.
Why
hello there: President Obama shakes hands with Thai Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra as he arrives at the Government House in Bangkok,
Thailand
Glances: Obama enjoys a joke with Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra during a state dinner in Thailand
Welcome tour: Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra, right, looks back at President Obama during a press conference in Bangkok
Obama will next visit Myanmar - also known as Burma - followed by Cambodia this week.
He said it is 'no accident' that he planned his first foreign trip to Asia after winning re-election.
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday in Bangkok, Obama emphasized that the U.S. is a 'Pacific nation.'
He said the Asia-Pacific region will be crucial for creating jobs in the U.S. and shaping its security and prosperity.
Obama's praised Thailand for being a supporter of democracy in Myanmar, the once-pariah state that is rapidly reforming.
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| All in the eyes: Prime Minister Shinawatra shoots Obama a seductive glance as the two meet on his arrival in Bangkok |
He said he appreciated the Thai prime minister's insights into Myanmar during their meetings on Sunday.
The president's visit made quite an impression on Thailand, and adoring
crowds gathered around him and chanted ‘Obama, Obama’ as he visited the
Temple of Reclining Buddha just after arriving in Bangkok.
The Temple of Reclining Buddha, formally known as Wat Pho, was the first
stop on President Barack Obama's Asian tour that will also take him to
Myanmar and Cambodia.
Observing traditional custom, Obama took off his shoes as a
saffron-robed monk led him and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
through the 18th century temple's stoned paved compound of multi-colored
spires and chapels with hundreds of gilded Buddha images.
But the main attraction is the reclining Buddha statue that at 150 feet
long, and 50 feet high, stretches half the length of a football field.
The statue is made of bricks and plaster and covered in gold leaf with mother-of-pearl inlay decorating the feet.
A smiling Obama waved from the back seat of his armored Cadillac, which
drove slowly alongside cheering crowds as he headed to a royal audience
with Thailand's revered, ailing monarch, 84-year-old King Bhumibol
Adulyadej.
'Yes! I saw him! And he was waving at us!' said 72-year-old American
tourist Elizabeth Simon visiting Thailand with her 74-year-old sister.
Foreign policy: The president and the prime minister could be seen
laughing together and exchanging playful glances throughout a state
dinner at the Government House in Bangkok
Friendly: Obama and Shinawatra burst into laughter during the press conference
Go
East: Barack Obama and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra review
an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at Government House in
Bangkok
They were at the beach in Pattaya two hours away but rushed to Bangkok
just to see him. 'I'm so thrilled that he won the election. When we
heard he was coming, we decided to get here.'
While in Asia, however, Obama will be dividing his attention by
monitoring the escalating conflict between Israel and the Hamas-ruled
Gaza Strip.
Obama has been in regular contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu as well as with Egyptian and Turkish leaders who might hold
sway with the Hamas leadership.
Obama said that his landmark visit to Myanmar is an acknowledgement of
the democratic transition underway but not an endorsement of the
country's government.
Obama's words were aimed at countering critics who say his trip to the country also known as Burma is premature.
Read more: dailymail.co.uk
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