• OPINION

  Asean can live with Quad and Aukus

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 05/10/2021

  » The current strategic situation is not quite the same as Asean faced in its early days, but there are several similar characteristics. The rivalry between the two then superpowers -- the US and the former Soviet Union -- was visible and rising incrementally and would soon reach its peak. Fuelling the enmity was their ideological differences -- free world versus orthodox communism. Today, the fight is about technological supremacy and governance.

• OPINION

  Biden's doctrine and regional fallout

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 14/09/2021

  » It is difficult to imagine the region or the world without US involvement. After the Afghanistan debacle, it has become increasingly clear that President Joe Biden is in reverse gear with his new doctrine. The rest of the world must now come to grips with this new reality, which could come as fast as the collapse of Kabul.

• OPINION

  We must end torture in all its forms

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 21/09/2021

  » The whole country has been shocked by a video clip of a rogue police officer torturing a drug suspect to death last month. The Thai public generally know and accept that the Thai police are not good cops but to watch them from their living rooms so blatantly torturing a man was a bit too much. The drama helped lawmakers pass the draft bill on prevention and suppression of torture and enforced disappearances last week without any objection; that same bill that was quickly dismissed in the parliamentary debate some six years ago.

• OPINION

  US-Thai Cobra Gold drills wither at 40

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 17/08/2021

  » The 40th iteration of Cobra Gold (CG), which ended last week, was supposed to be the best year ever for the four-decades-old Thai and US joint military exercises. But it was not to be. Blame it on the Covid-19 pandemic or the menace of smartphones and social media spreading fake news about the true nature of the region's largest multinational military exercise.

• OPINION

  Taliban 2.0: Regional, global impacts

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 24/08/2021

  » The Taliban's victory is still fresh but unintended consequences that can impact the regional and global strategic environment are not difficult to discern. The first two weeks of its rule have already evoked vivid and unpleasant memories of past practices that brought outside powers to this rugged mountainous corner of the world. The future of this nation will remain unsettled for a long time to come. The first indicator has been the Afghan people themselves, who have showed their bravery during their 101th independence day last week by opposing the use of the Taliban's flag.

• OPINION

  Asean at 54: In need of some speed

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 10/08/2021

  » Despite the plethora of criticism, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in its 54th year is actually stronger and bolder than ever. That might sound propagandistic but it is not. Today, member countries are more engaged and expressive in their exchanges of opinions and ideas, especially on proposed plans of action in relation to the challenges confronting the bloc. External powers are also wooing Asean in a way that has never seen before.

• OPINION

  New US push: Vaccine and Mekong

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 20/07/2021

  » US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the special session with Asean last week to shore up Washington's position in Southeast Asia. He touched on China, the disputes over the South China Sea, the situation in Myanmar and the response to Covid-19, amongst others. Strangely enough, the phrase "free and open Mekong" was introduced for the first time in the latest US position regarding the most important strategic area of mainland Southeast Asia.

• OPINION

  Brunei's chairmanship is truly Asean

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 27/07/2021

  » By default, Brunei's Asean chairmanship has brought into the open the bloc's strengths and weaknesses for all to see due to political disruption within the region. Throughout its 54 years of existence, Asean has been chastised and belittled as a talk-only-no-decision institution. Given the current environment, its success in maintaining regional sustainable peace and development for the past five decades nevertheless has become little more than a cliché.

• OPINION

  Russia is back and it's a little bit better

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 13/07/2021

  » Make no mistake, Russia is back in Southeast Asia, the region where its former empire reigned during the Cold War. This time, Russia is more sophisticated and more assertive, as another global power that can shift and change the present strategic environment in the most visible way. Today Russia is determined to break US-led sanctions and further integrate its economy with the region's economic dynamics.

• OPINION

  Can we build back better by Oct 15?

  News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 22/06/2021

  » By Oct 15, Buddha willing, Thailand will be ready to welcome visitors from abroad including domestic travellers. Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha bet his political career and reputation on a pledge that Thailand will be back in business once again in four months' time.

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