Showing 31 - 40 of 54
The submarine deal that won't go away
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 12/05/2017
» Despite widespread public opposition, the Thai navy inked a 13.5-billion-baht contract last week for the first of what will be three Chinese submarines in an 11-year deal worth 36 billion baht. Myriad criticisms have been expressed in as many media platforms by both experts and observers alike. Yet there are four broader implications which argue against the submarine deal and warrant a mention on record.
Challenges, prospects of 2017 constitution
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/04/2017
» Nearly three years after its last military coup, there is good and bad news as Thailand gears up to leave behind the current period of military government, whose record has been mixed at best.
Implications from a divided America
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 18/11/2016
» In the immediate aftermath of the presidential election outcome in the United States, many Americans are dazed and divided. As Donald Trump has beaten Hillary Clinton against the vast majority of pre-election polls that had forecast otherwise, his supporters are calling it fair and square with a convincing victory in the Electoral College that elects presidents based on the popular vote.
17,410,742 Britons versus the world
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 01/07/2016
» Thailand's recent habit of rejecting voter results through denial, manipulation and contrivance is apparently a global phenomenon. When it comes to the United Kingdom's spectacular referendum decision to leave the European Union, popularly known as "Brexit", the court of world public opinion does not like what it sees. Global critics have lamented and opined widely against Brexit voters, who numbered 17,410,742, representing a 51.89% overall majority from nearly a 72% turnout. But in many ways, Brexit may just be the wake-up call that the EU sorely needs. Making the best of Brexit should now be the task at hand rather than its reversal.
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.
NE Asia summit shows SE Asia weaknesses
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/11/2015
» Although it papered over differences, the recent resumption of a summit meeting among China, Japan and South Korea has cooled bilateral tensions in Northeast Asia with longer-term implications for Southeast Asia.
Charter-drafting reset set to fuel tension
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 11/09/2015
» That the National Reform Council (NRC) scuttled the Constitution Drafting Committee's (CDC) draft charter last Sunday is akin to a political abortion, a wilful abandonment of a year-long process both bodies were set up to complete in tandem.
Global disarray as institutions falter
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/08/2015
» The international system as we know it is unravelling. Rules and institutions that were set up seven decades ago no longer hold the same weight and authority as they used to. As we grapple with an exacerbating global disorder, established powers and players and old rules and institutions need to be revamped and reinvented to accommodate new realities. Otherwise global tensions will mount, most probably accompanied by confrontation and conflict.
Thailand caught in indefinite transition trap
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/05/2015
» Milestones and anniversaries are for marking. But few should overdo the focus on Thailand one year after its 12th successful coup in 83 years under constitutional rule. The past year is merely a large blip on a long political continuum that dates back a decade or even a century in which Thai society has been grappling with the form and content of a political order that is being contested between the forces of tradition and modernity.
Absolute authority brings absolute risks
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/04/2015
» The invocation of Section 44 of the interim constitution in place of martial law is a mixed bag in disguise.