Showing 1 - 9 of 9
'Scam-gate' deserves full accounting
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/10/2025
» The explosive revelations and allegations of regional cybercrimes and scam networks have hit Thailand head-on and placed the government of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in an awkward and defensive position. As more facts surrounding what looks like a labyrinthine cross-border multibillion-dollar transnational criminal ring come to light, more questions have surfaced with no clear answers. The Anutin government needs to come clean and avoid a "scam-gate" of cover-ups and lies at the expense of countless scammed victims across many countries.
Asean role stuck on Myanmar coup
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/08/2023
» President Joe Biden's decision to skip Asean-related summits in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Sept 5-7 in favour of the G-20 leaders' meeting in India just two days later has been greeted with howls of disappointment and criticism around Southeast Asian capitals and elsewhere that are concerned about America's role in the region.
Myanmar: From diplomacy to force
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 30/04/2021
» At its recent "special" summit in Jakarta on Myanmar's crisis, Asean reached its diplomatic maximum by coming up with a "five-point consensus" that will likely prove too little and too slow. Constrained by consensus and its non-interference principle where any of its 10 members has a virtual veto, Asean's overdue response to Myanmar's fast-escalating violence on the ground is likely to prove ineffective. As Asean's diplomacy faces limitations, more of Myanmar's outcomes are likely to be decided by the use of force in an intensifying civil war.
Geopolitical outcomes beyond Covid-19
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 15/05/2020
» The coronavirus crisis is on course to significantly reshape and realign the pecking order among nations in geopolitics. Rather than a fundamental shift in patterns and contours, the likely geopolitical outcomes beyond Covid-19 appear to reinforce pre-existing trends and dynamics. As the two competing superpowers, neither the United States nor China will come out of the pandemic period with flying colours.
Asean must unite to resolve Covid-19
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/03/2020
» As the Covid-19 pandemic runs its course and wreaks havoc worldwide, the numbers look bleak. Nearly 500,000 people have been infected, and more than 21,000 had died as of Thursday. The international system has reverted to every country for itself, as borders have gone up and globalisation has come down. The world as we knew it is unlikely to be the same, but regions as they were remain relevant. Here, Asean, as Southeast Asia's regional bloc, must face up to the crisis together or risk being torn apart by it.
The global politics of the coronavirus
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/02/2020
» It is not surprising that the deadly coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in China's Hubei province has become a contentious issue in international politics. While the number of fatalities has reached 565 and more than 28,000 have been infected in China to date, the issue has become politicised and polarised because it emerged in an Asian superpower that is aggressive in its pursuit of global supremacy.
America at war within can't lead world
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 18/10/2019
» The extraordinary country that once touted itself and was seen by many as the "leader of the free world" is no longer so great. America, the fabled "city upon a hill" and beacon of freedom and democracy for the world, is unwell from within, wracked by nasty divisions and visceral polarisation.
Gen Prayut's uncommon dictatorship
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/02/2019
» When confronted with the contention that Thailand's upcoming election is rigged and manipulated, the insiders and advisers of the Thai government will say otherwise. They argue that this poll is no more rigged than its predecessors and the incumbents and power holders of the day will naturally and understandably arrange for constitutional laws and election rules to be written to suit their interests and boost their poll chances. Some of this rationalisation is true, but most of it is self-interested hogwash.
Global turmoil and Thailand's political reset
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 21/12/2018
» As the world moves into 2019, there is a consensus that the roughly seven-decade-old rules-based liberal international order no longer works. Either it has to be fundamentally revamped to suit new realities and the international distribution of power and wealth, or it will be increasingly violated and marginalised. In a remarkable parallel, Thailand's hitherto political order that lasted about seven decades also requires adjustment and recalibration.