Putting hearts and minds in Thai-US ties

The efforts to save the children specifically captured the hearts of Americans, as Thai-US ties change for the better.

The international rescue of 12 boys and their football coach in Chiang Rai earlier this month quickly permeated into the conference room of the Thai-US dialogue in Washington DC last week. The feel-good atmosphere jump-started the much-needed dialogue between the region's oldest allies.

For weeks, major US media outlets, including The Washington Post and CNN, kept the international rescue of the "Wild Boar" footballers and their coach continuously in the headlines -- something very rare for stories datelined Thailand -- except for breaking news about its numerous military coups over the years.

Kavi Chongkittavorn is a veteran journalist on regional affairs.

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