Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Thailand hit by a confluence of crises
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/12/2025
» Thailand is currently facing multiple crises of unprecedented proportions in the highest corridors of power that will pose adversity for the economy and political stability next year and beyond.
No-confidence and poll date in flux
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 14/11/2025
» Amid the drumbeats of military conflict with Cambodia, Thailand's political environment is evidently unruly and unsettled. The minority government of Anutin Charnvirakul, the third prime minister from the third largest-winning party since the latest national election in May 2023, is hard-pressed to stay in office beyond the four-month "Memorandum of Agreement" between his Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) and the People's Party (PP), the largest camp in the national assembly.
'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's regroup requires deep reforms
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/10/2025
» If Asean's 58 years thus far have been about resilience and playing a central organising role in promoting regional security and stability, its next decade will determine whether the Southeast Asian bloc can adapt and remain relevant. After the crises in Myanmar and along the Thai-Cambodian border, Asean's credibility has never been more in doubt. To regain its effectiveness as Southeast Asia's one and only agency, Asean needs to move away from the ritualistic diplomacy of mundane meetings to far-reaching reforms that chart new ways of making things work.
Thailand needs a geostrategic rebalance
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/06/2025
» With two military coups and multiple judicial interventions that combined to subvert election results and weaken democratic institutions over the past two decades, it is unsurprising that Thailand's geostrategic position has leaned increasingly towards China. Naturally, the more Thailand becomes autocratic, the more it will be estranged from established democracies in Europe and North America, as well as Japan and South Korea, with nowhere to turn but to Beijing. But this China orientation is a geostrategic mistake at this time. Thailand should correct its course until clearer signs emerge as to which side of the superpower struggle will come out on top.
Trump's tariff blackmail boosts Brics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/12/2024
» Even before officially taking office, United States President-elect Donald J Trump is shaking up the international system with drama and fanfare unlike any other major leader in recent memory. His most recent outburst to slap 100% tariffs on the "Brics" countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates -- is a case in point. While it will coerce developing economies to think twice about the cost of going their own way, this tariff blackmail and others like it also risk pushing smaller countries away from the US to other rival big powers, particularly China.
Thai foreign policy needs new rudder
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/09/2024
» Thailand's foreign policy posture and projection under Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and the new government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is off to a good start under severe structural constraints. Given the widespread consensus both at home and abroad that Thailand has fallen behind its peers over the past two decades, the imperative of regaining its international standing is undisputed. But doing so under what the foreign minister has outlined as a "neutral stance" under "non-alignment" among the great powers is moot and misguided. What Thai foreign policy needs is multi-alignments and omni-directionality under a new rudder.
New government is new wine in old bottle
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/09/2024
» On the face of it, the new government under Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra appears to be a generational shift and gender breakthrough. Ms Paetongtarn is the youngest prime minister ever at 38 and only the second female government leader after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra in 2011-14. The Paetongtarn cabinet features a record eight women among 36 with more ministers in their 30s-50s and fewer above 60. Yet on closer scrutiny, the new and younger faces are largely family legacies and proxies, surrounded by old-style politicians, while the new government's policy directions sound dated not well-suited for the times ahead.
Myanmar revolts against dictatorship
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 02/02/2024
» When Myanmar's military coup took place three years ago, few thought it would turn out this way. Never has a military in Southeast Asia staged a successful coup and then failed to consolidate power afterwards. Yet this is precisely what's happening in Myanmar. A fierce and determined coalition of resistance forces is in the process of prevailing over Myanmar's battle-hardened army.
Thailand's policy on Myanmar stinks
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 23/06/2023
» The latest move to coddle and recognise Myanmar's junta government by caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's outgoing regime does not add up. Sanctioned and supported by Gen Prayut, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai arranged an Asean-wide ministerial meeting in Pattaya on June 18 with Myanmar's junta-appointed Foreign Minister Than Swe with unusual haste. Shrouded in controversy and desperation, both the PM's and the FM's clichéd explanations just do not wash. It begs the question of whether there are vested interests involved, above and beyond Thailand's national interest, in the outgoing government's seeming acceptance of Myanmar's military regime that took power by force on Feb 1, 2021.