Showing 221 - 230 of 235
Making Thai passports more powerful
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 16/01/2018
» For a country that welcomed more than 33 million visitors from well over 150 countries last year, it is shocking to find out that Thai passport holders can go to just 73 countries without visas. That is pathetic and unacceptable and well below Singapore and Malaysia whose citizens can visit 176 and 166 countries visa-free respectively.
Mekong countries eye bold new future
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 09/01/2018
» When lead characters in a Chinese kung fu movie drink wine from the same cup, they are considered sworn brothers. They will fight and die together. Will all six riparian countries of the Lancang, or Mekong (Lan-Mei), share the same spirit of camaraderie as they all live on this magnificent river? There may be ominous signs during the Second Summit of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) on Jan 10-11 in Phnom Penh.
Lessons from Thai votes on Jerusalem
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 02/01/2018
» Thailand made a historic decision on 21 Dec to join 127 other United Nations member states in rejecting the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. In the past, when push came to shove in a major diplomatic decision, Bangkok would normally duck the issue by practising "fence-sitting" to protect its perceived national interests.
Thailand wise to act as EU-Asean conduit
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 19/12/2017
» The first paragraph of the Council of the European Union conclusion on Thailand, released last Monday after the EU foreign ministerial meeting, provided an insight into the state of EU-Thai relations. It says:
Surin was Asean’s de facto foreign minister
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 08/12/2017
» It was the spring of 2007. The application deadline was quickly approaching for a qualified Thai candidate to serve as the 12th Asean secretary-general.
Singapore's Asean chair: think new and big
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 21/11/2017
» Singapore's chairmanship of Asean started long before the city state's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong received the baton from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last week in Manila. Singapore wants to ensure the external environment under its helm will be conducive to promoting Asean centrality and regional stability as well as prosperity.
Donald Trump must learn virtues of EAS
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 09/11/2017
» The region's premium strategic forum, known as the East Asia Summit (EAS), which was established in 2005, has been the only place where Indo-Pacific leaders can present concerns and establish goodwill.
Will Trump derail Obama's legacy in SEA?
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 17/10/2017
» As the administration of US President Donald Trump enters its tenth month, one of the most frequently asked questions is whether he will try to take down his predecessor's legacy in Southeast Asia. The answer is both no, and yes.
The 184-year-old paradox of elephant-eagle relations
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 02/10/2017
» The elephant and eagle as symbols of Thailand and the United States were not the creation of today's news spin-meisters. In 1833, US president Andrew Jackson gave a gift to King Rama III that symbolised one of the most important relations the US had with the outside world -- its first foreign mission in Asia. Jackson gave the king a sword with an eagle representing America and an elephant representing Siam carved into the handle.
Sino-Singapore bonhomie bodes well
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 26/09/2017
» Make no mistake, Singapore will always be a powerful catalyst of Asean-China relations. Despite the hullabaloo resulting from diplomatic spats between Singapore and China last year, the two have now reset their relations, recognising the new reality of the emerging strategic landscape in the region and elsewhere.