Showing 1 - 5 of 5
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".
Moral dilemmas of handling the virus
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/04/2020
» It is hard to calibrate a commensurate response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Owing to the lack of accurate and reliable information, a media feeding frenzy and the mass psychology of fear, the choice has become all or nothing, not much in between. Individuals, societies and states worldwide are now incentivised to overdo it and err on the side of caution, being safe rather than sorry. This means that the likelihood of "overshooting" with Covid responses is likely to heighten in the foreseeable future in view of morally unacceptable alternatives.
Obama's Asian pivot faces uncertain fate
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 02/12/2016
» As President-elect Donald Trump continues to stir up a hornet's nest in Washington and elsewhere in America, the outgoing and lame-duck presidency of Barack Obama looks spent, its foreign policy agenda at risk of reversal and dismantlement. This is a pity because Mr Obama had his heart in the right places. He tried to make the world a better place but ultimately fell short.
America's presidential poll and Thai-US ties
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 04/11/2016
» As the current presidential cycle in the United States closes with elections on Nov 8, there will be a global sigh of relief that it is finally over. The longest electoral contest in the world's ostensible bastion of democracy has become increasingly dysfunctional and malfunctioning. It has become a gruelling competition to see who is the least worst to put up with rather than who is the best to lead, resembling a drawn-out political circus, tinged with Hollywood dramatic effects and unbecoming of a country that is supposed to lead the community of democracies.
Subs put too many eggs in China basket
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/07/2015
» That Thailand’s planned purchase of three attack submarines from China has raised eyebrows is to be expected. Over the past decade, marked by two military coups in Thai politics, relations between Bangkok and Beijing have become closer than ever. If the submarine deal goes ahead, it will substantially bond military-to-military ties between the two countries and crucially shift Thailand’s geopolitical posture from its traditional hedging among the major powers to a lopsided embrace of Beijing.