Showing 1 - 10 of 32
Thailand's 2043 security outlook
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 20/02/2024
» Under an increasingly polarised world underlined by the strategic competition between global superpowers -- along with their friends and alliances, it is not surprising that Thailand views the global security landscape with trepidation. Such a trend is a litmus test for middle and smaller power nations to navigate their security policies and engagements. They do not have many choices; nevertheless, these small and medium-sized countries can either align themselves with the most prominent powers or lesser ones that can protect their national interests, or they can get together and use their combined strength to deter the hegemonic ambition of outside powers. Staying alone and pursuing one's pathway without supporting partners is not an option.
Is land bridge plan just a pipe dream?
News, Published on 06/11/2023
» Cargo vessels loaded with containers are on both sides of the sea, clearly representing the South China Sea in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. In between are a train and truck that connect the two coasts.
Free-flowing Salween River needs protection
Oped, Pianporn Deetes, Published on 14/03/2023
» This morning at Sob Moei -- the confluence of the Moei and the Salween rivers on the Thailand-Myanmar border -- indigenous peoples and their supporters are attending a spiritual ceremony to express their collective stance to protect the Salween River from destructive dam projects.
Revitalising Thailand-Malaysia ties
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 24/01/2023
» 'So close and yet so far" is a popular description of the current state of ties between Thailand and Malaysia. It could have been better in the past, but now both countries can make a difference. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is visiting Thailand next month to advance bilateral ties to another level, but several elements are needed.
Land tax loophole endangers our environment
Oped, Published on 29/12/2022
» The public is little aware of the problem, but a new land tax is Thailand's most environmentally destructive policy in the 21st century so far. Taxing land and buildings is a standard policy around the world, and it makes good economic sense. That's why parliament in 2019 passed the law in question -- the Land and Building Tax Act, which went into effect in 2020, imposing annual tax rates ranging from 0.01% to 1.2% or more on the value of the land.
Koh Lipe villagers suffer 'Paradise Lost'
Oped, Paskorn Jumlongrach, Published on 16/12/2022
» While Satun's Lipe island in the Andaman sea has gained recognition as a tourist paradise, its beauty is the cause of deep trouble for Urak Lawoi -- an indigenous group that has been living on this pristine island for over a century.
Thailand's tin: Mining our real history
Oped, Published on 29/09/2022
» Long before Thailand became a hub for industries like auto manufacturing, tourism and healthcare, it was a global hub for tin. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the mining of tin along the Andaman Sea coastline created wealth for Siam.
Today is a 'Day of Action for Rivers'
News, Pianporn Deetes, Published on 14/03/2022
» On a sandy beach by the Salween River on the Thai-Myanmar border in March 2006, boats carrying Karen villagers and other ethnic groups such as Karenni, Yintalai and Shan from various areas in the Salween Basin are arriving to join an important yet simple ceremony.
In Mekong region, drug trade thrives
Oped, Johanna Son, Published on 15/07/2021
» An example of a resilient business model in hard times? Indeed, except that this describes how the synthetic drug industry has been expanding in East and Southeast Asia, home to the Mekong region which is the manufacturing and trafficking hub that supplies illicit drugs that reach not just the wider Asia but the globe.
The future is not mass tourism
Oped, Published on 23/09/2020
» A huge challenge awaits Thailand as plans are afoot to open up the country to rescue the tourism industry: How to prevent a new round of environmental onslaught from mass tourism.