Showing 61 - 70 of 532
Biden's pivot to free, open Indo-Pacific
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/09/2021
» If former United States President Barack Obama is known for his "pivot to Asia" geostrategy and President Donald Trump for the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, there is now a geostrategic synthesis under President Joe Biden. It can be aptly called the US "pivot to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific".
Biden's fault lines in SE Asia
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 31/08/2021
» Vice President Kamala Harris was right in stating that when the history of the 21st century is written, most of it will be centred right here in the Indo-Pacific. But she forgot to add that the approach taken by the US will also be mentioned because of its many fault lines. Three points can be discerned when it comes to the Biden administration's attitude towards the region.
Correcting the pandemic policy tack
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/07/2021
» That Thailand's coronavirus pandemic has been grossly mismanaged is self-evident. Infection rates have soared to new highs this month while vaccine availability and access remain shoddy and abysmal. The overstretched healthcare system is creaking under growing demand, while several scenes so far of Covid-afflicted people being left to die on the streets have shaken the country's collective morale and elicited soul-searching questions about how Thailand has managed to reach this dire juncture.
US faces test on Taiwan, Ukraine
News, Peter Apps, Published on 19/04/2021
» With warship moves, equipment sales and diplomatic rhetoric, the United States has rarely been more emphatic that it stands with its allies in Ukraine and Taiwan.
Can Navalny change Russia like Lenin did?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 22/01/2021
» When Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny returned to Moscow on Sunday after convalescing in Germany from an attempted poisoning by the FSB domestic spy agency, the regime-friendly media loyally failed to mention his arrival. With one striking exception: Vremya, the flagship news show of Russian state television.
Local politics amid US-Thai relations
Oped, Published on 11/12/2020
» Among Southeast Asia's governments, Thailand's may regret the most Donald Trump's departure from the White House. The government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has benefited from the Trump administration's de-emphasis of human rights and democracy in favour of geostrategic interests. A shift in emphasis under President-elect Joe Biden's administration is likely to ensnare the Thailand-United States treaty alliance in Thai domestic politics.
Ray of charter hope for end to unrest
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 21/11/2020
» Progress in the charter rewrite process, with parliamentary endorsement of two draft bills proposed by the government and the opposition, gives a ray of hope that there could be a peaceful solution to the ongoing political conflict.
Multilateralism in a post-Covid World
Oped, Published on 18/11/2020
» The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the crisis of multilateralism and international cooperation that we already witnessed well before the pandemic broke out. Multilateralism has come under tremendous stress and strain. Much of this is due to the growing sentiments of anti-globalisation in many countries, particularly in the US and the European Union, coming from both the extreme right and left of the political spectrum. The backlash against globalisation has manifested itself in the rise of nationalism, populism, unilateralism, protectionism and xenophobia. In the midst of such discontent, globalisation and multilateralism are blamed for loss of jobs, loss of control over national borders, loss of national sovereignty and loss of confidence in the future by millions of people who have not been able to keep pace with the speed and depth in which our world has become integrated and globalised.
US presidential poll and implications
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/11/2020
» It is surprisingly unsurprising. Contrary to most polls and pundits, incumbent United States President Donald J Trump did not lose by a landslide in the presidential election this week. The final results are so close that both candidates, Mr Trump and Democratic Party rival Joe Biden, have claimed victory. Despite ongoing rancour and acrimony until the next US president is sworn in next January, several outcomes and implications are already clear.
America can learn from India's weeks-long polls
Oped, Published on 06/11/2020
» Americans have long been accustomed to knowing the results of elections by the time they go to bed on Election Day. This year is forcing them to realise that's not necessarily the norm. Democracy, unlike candy, does not come out of a vending machine delivering instant gratification. And that's a good thing.