Twenty Thais from different professions have come together to share ideas how Thai-US strategic partnership could be reset given fast changing geopolitics and geoeconomics.

Known as Track 1.5, the roundtable was co-organised by the Strategic Studies Center (National Defence Studies Institute), International Studies Center (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and Institute for Strategic Policy (ISP), a policy-advocate think tank.

The event took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 8, 2026.

The Thai roundtable session was convened ahead of next month’s meeting with the US counterpart led by the East-West Center to chart a new strategic anchor for future of Thai-US alliance and strategic partnership.

The event follows the visit of the Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, to Hawaii, a key centre of US security and strategic thinking on and policy-implementation in the Indo-Pacific.

During his meetings with key partners of Thailand from the Pacific Command to the East-West Center, Mr. Sihasak underscored the need to identify a new strategic anchor for the Thai-US partnership that reflects today’s global and regional geo-strategic and technological realities and prepares for tomorrow’s trends and scenarios.

Fresh visions and new areas of focus were shared by the 20 Thai participants, with extensive experiences in each of their fields, in the areas of security, law and enforcement, trade and investment, health and medicine, education, technology, and the region.

Thailand is the oldest treaty partner of the US in Asia.