Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Thailand's irresponsible runaway debt
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 11/06/2021
» A major lasting damage Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will eventually leave behind is his government's co-optation and capture of autonomous agencies that used to safeguard and uphold Thailand's macroeconomic well-being and political level-playing field.
Prayut government seems bullet-proof
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/05/2021
» The passage of time shows the government's growing lack of accountability. In fact, the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha appears the most unaccountable on record because it has been the most incompetent. Myriad charges from policy mismanagement and blatant irregularities to outright constitutional violations have been levied against the government but none have stuck. Although some attribute this phenomenon to Gen Prayut's "Teflon" qualities, a more accurate understanding may well be that his cabinet is somehow bullet-proof. Charges can stick but they cannot penetrate.
Concentric Mideast wars and prospects
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 10/01/2020
» Nothing captures attention in an age of media saturation like the talk of war. The recent decision by US President Donald Trump to assassinate a top Iranian official, Quds Force Commander Major General Qassem Soleimani, has conjured up the spectre of a wider conflict encompassing not just the Middle East but the broader world, as Iran's top leaders deemed it "an act of war" and vowed "severe revenge". Although Iran's military and its proxy militias and client states in the Middle East and elsewhere are poised to exact retribution for their loss, we are unlikely to see a world war in the immediate aftermath of this killing.
Developing by managing demographics
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/09/2019
» Once upon a time, it was feared that the earth would become overcrowded and its inhabitants unable to find enough to eat. This fear has not only proved unfounded but it has gone in the opposite direction. What almost every nation fears now is a decline in inhabitants as the birth rate cannot keep up with the longevity of the aged and elderly, imposing unsustainable burdens on working-age segments of the population. Every region is afflicted with this demographic predicament, especially in affluent societies where the birth rate decline is acute, such as Japan.
Post-Obama America's 'rebalance' to Asia
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/06/2016
» As the United States' presidential election kicks into higher gear with the upcoming nominations of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the Democratic and Republican party candidates vying for top office, Asian countries, and Asean in particular, are concerned about what will happen to outgoing President Barack Obama's "rebalance" (also known as the "pivot") strategy to Asia. The "rebalance" is likely to be a lasting legacy of President Obama's foreign policy accomplishments. It has provided Asian countries from Myanmar and Vietnam to the Philippines with a counterbalance to China's increasing regional footprints. But the future of the rebalance hangs in the balance.
The US-Asean summit put in perspective
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/02/2016
» It is easy to read too much into the first-ever United States-Asean summit. True, the just-concluded top-level gathering between the 10 Asean leaders and President Barack Obama was a watershed in many ways. It underscored America’s attention and intention behind the Obama administration’s geo-strategic “rebalance” to Asia. While the inaugural US-Asean summit was a boon for America’s role in Asia and a mixed bag for Asean’s overall standing, it should have transpired before Mr Obama’s last year in office. Whether it has been too little and has come too late will depend largely on American domestic determinants beyond Asean’s reach.
Interventions must have political goals
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 20/06/2014
» Military interventions all over the world are invariably easier to go into than to get out of. In many large-scale military operations, entry points quickly warp into elusive and murky exit plans as the fog of war sets in. Only with clear and realistic political objectives can military interventions succeed in their stated aims. Many cases abroad are instructive for Thailand’s experience at home.
Japan must rise again, for the common good
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/01/2013
» Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent swing through three of the largest members of Asean has signalled a fluid start to the new year in East Asia's high-stakes regional mix.