Showing 1 - 8 of 8
What happens if Asean shrinks to 9?
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 29/10/2021
» It all came down to a choice between marginalisation and irrelevance on the one hand and pragmatism and resilience on the other. At its 38th and 39th leaders' meetings and related summits with dialogue partners, Asean chose to remain relevant. In an unprecedented move with far-reaching ramifications, Asean reduced itself to nine participating members from the normal 10, excluding Myanmar. While this bold manoeuvre derived from necessity rather than initiative, it provides Southeast Asia's bloc of smaller states a small window of opportunity to regain its footing and revitalise its central role in promoting regional peace and stability in Asia.
Aukus pact raises geopolitical tensions
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/10/2021
» In less than a month, the trilateral security partnership among Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom (Aukus) has stolen the thunder from other geostrategic schemes that have been around for over a decade.
Thai-Australian ties in the regional mix
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/06/2020
» Unlike the externally originated coronavirus pandemic, the mass protests in the United States in the aftermath of George Floyd's wrongful death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis are internally driven. Seen from outside, the public fury, street demonstrations and ensuing violence over the fatal suffocation of Floyd, a black man, yield geopolitical ramifications. If the US is socially unwell and geopolitically unreliable, regional states in Asia will have to respond accordingly in view of the US-China rivalry and competition. A case in point is Thailand-Australia relations in the regional mix.
Thailand's inevitable political endgame
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/11/2019
» While the conviction this week of Future Forward Party (FFP) leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit seemed to be in the making ever since the Election Commission took up the charge last May, it was still astonishing when it transpired. In an all too familiar scene, the Constitutional Court ruled that a leader of yet another leading political party which has stood against military coups and the generals' role in politics is guilty of violating an election-related law, this one banning MP candidates from owning shares in a media company. As the verdict strips Mr Thanathorn of his MP status, several implications seem clear.
RCEP without India poses new hurdles
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/11/2019
» On the face of it, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is an Indo-Pacific trade pact that would shore up the stalled world trade liberalisation and stem the rising tide of protectionism in the global economy. India's withdrawal from the RCEP -- whose other 15 members comprise the 10 Asean economies along with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand -- is a major setback, posing new challenges for the Asean-centred trade bloc. Asean should persuade India to return to the RCEP fold, while preparing for a much less promising RCEP15 as second-best outcome.
Thailand’s potential grand realignment
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/02/2014
» As caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra comes under mounting pressure from the gathering forces arrayed against her self-exiled and convicted brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, something will soon have to give. Thailand’s prolonged political standoff has crippled Bangkok’s central business district and placed Thailand in an economic free fall. At issue going forward is how much longer Ms Yingluck will last, how she is dislodged, what comes after, and whether a grand realignment takes place to marginalise Thaksin and move Thailand beyond him.
Clip exposes gamut of inconvenient truths
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/07/2013
» The controversial audio clip that has reverberated around Thailand over the past two weeks refuses to go away. On it, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and current Deputy Defence Minister Yuthasak Sasiprapa held a wide-ranging conversation which ran the gamut from mutual acquaintances and personal virility to military promotions and Thaksin's homecoming drive through an amnesty decree.
Thailand's superpower courtship
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/11/2012
» Whether it comes out of Bangkok or Washington, foreign policy ultimately derives from domestic politics. Long after United States President Barack Obama leaves Bangkok on this round of shuttle visits to three mainland Southeast Asian nations as part of his East Asia Summit (EAS) tour, Thailand's foreign relations will still be stuck and able to find traction only at the margins without much forward direction from the middle until the country's domestic tension and turmoil find a lasting political settlement and a new equilibrium.