• OPINION

  Thailand plays the China card again

  Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 10/10/2016

  » Thailand is losing its formerly admirable reputation as an Asean diplomatic leader and a helpful neutral voice in the South China Sea conflict, as the military government moves more clearly into the orbit of China.

• OPINION

  Winter is coming, still

  Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 09/01/2017

  » Following an eventful 2016 that featured seismic political shifts and numerous celebrity deaths, many of us greeted the New Year with hopes that better times lie ahead. But regardless what the fortune tellers say, 2017 could be the year of consequences, whether it's the final outcome of Brexit or the impact of a Donald Trump presidency.

• OPINION

  The curse of corruption

  Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 30/01/2017

  » Lately we are hearing more about corruption scandals across Asia and, sadly, we will probably be hearing more. The mother of them all is the long-running saga of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), one of the world's largest white-collar crimes.

• OPINION

  BBC not very convincing about station

  News, Erich Parpart, Published on 13/03/2017

  » Even though the government has insisted it was the BBC's own decision to not renew the 20-year lease of a major shortwave broadcast station for Asia in Nakhon Sawan, many see it as the latest jab that the junta has carefully landed on the face of the British broadcaster.

• OPINION

  History can't be erased with a plaque

  News, Erich Parpart, Published on 24/04/2017

  » The disappearance of the 1932 Siamese Revolutionary memorial plaque says a lot about anyone who removed it. But, first of all and let's get it of the way, removing the plaque does not mean that you are removing the history it represents.

• OPINION

  Rape shows DLT needs to up cabbie vetting

  News, Erich Parpart, Published on 29/04/2017

  » Why was a twice-convicted rapist driving a taxi? This is the first question that popped into my mind when I heard that a taxi driver in Bangkok, whom the police said admitted to raping a Brazilian woman late on Tuesday night, was actually convicted of rape in 2008 and again in 2013 but still managed to become a cab driver, taking countless female passengers who could have been anyone's mother, sister or daughter.

• OPINION

  The Daesh threat close to home

  Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 08/05/2017

  » Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), or Daesh, appears to be trying to gain a foothold in the Philippines. It has also claimed responsibility for successful and unsuccessful attacks in Indonesia and Malaysia in recent years, while Singapore and Thailand are also on high alert.

• OPINION

  Sickening glorification of a brutal murder

  News, Erich Parpart, Published on 10/06/2017

  » The recent murder of a karaoke bar worker in Khon Kaen has exposed a lot of concerning issues that underline the moral decline of our society.

• OPINION

  Wake-up call for Don Mueang

  News, Erich Parpart, Published on 09/08/2017

  » The numbers of international arrivals to Thailand speak for themselves. So why was the Immigration Bureau not to know that its counters at Don Mueang International Airport would be clogged by arriving passengers last Saturday, and why wasn't it prepared?

• OPINION

  Enjoy the calm while it lasts

  Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 23/10/2017

  » China's economy slowed marginally from 6.9% growth in the first half to 6.8% in the third quarter but is still on course to beat Beijing's full-year target of 6.5%. It was the sort of good news Communist Party bigshots were waiting to hear, coming a day after President Xi Jinping's stirring three-hour speech to their twice-a-decade congress.

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