Showing 1 - 10 of 13
Border conflict tests big powers' resolve
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 23/12/2025
» Few would have imagined that the current Thailand-Cambodia conflict could generate such deep strategic anxiety, if not outright uncertainty, across Southeast Asia and beyond. From a Thai perspective, the tensions have revealed something far more consequential than just another bilateral border dispute. It is no longer a tit-for-tat affair.
Vietnam steps up as a regional leader
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 19/08/2025
» Vietnam wisely chose South Korea to showcase a new strategic-economic partnership in the region, focusing on growing trade, investment, and diplomatic cooperation. As the first country to dispatch a top leader to meet newly elected President Lee Jae-myung, the Hanoi government sends a clear signal to both Northeast and Southeast Asia that South Korea and Vietnam are emerging together as a driving force of regional connectivity and economic growth.
Recalibrating Thai-US ties (once again)
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 22/07/2025
» It is about time for Thailand to discard the two-century-old euphemism about enduring Thai-US ties and be brutally realistic. It is about time for a blunt question -- what can Thailand offer to reduce its soaring trade surplus of US$43 billion with the US? If Thai negotiators don't come up with any interesting offers, then the tariff for exported goods from Thailand to the US will be 36% across the board after Aug 1.
Can Thailand engage with Trump's US?
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 03/06/2025
» Thailand must be bold and dynamic in recalibrating its diplomatic ties with the United States under President Donald Trump. Asia's oldest relationship with Washington carries little weight in the era of transactional diplomacy. Although the 1833 Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the US and Siam described their relations "as long as heaven and earth can endure", the two countries now face formidable challenges in living up to that 192-year-old oath. That treaty was the United States' first treaty with a country in Asia, making Thailand America's oldest friend in the region.
Thai-Korea ties: From K-pop to policy
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 06/08/2024
» Thai singer Lalisa "Lisa" Manobal, a member of the phenomenal yet now defunct Blackpink, epitomises the modern Thai-South Korean relationship thanks to her popularity and global appeal.
UN envoy and SAC: more than tit for tat
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 23/08/2022
» When the United Nations Secretary-General's special envoy met recently with the military junta leader of a pariah state, the expectation was probably that it would start with an exchange of pleasantries and then be followed by some serious discussion. Of course, nobody would know what the two touched upon during their closed-door meeting. That was not to be.
Vaccine aid: US catches up with China
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 08/06/2021
» Strange as it may seem, vaccine diplomacy could cure US-China relations and improve their herd immunity against global hegemony. After all, these two superpowers' ultimate objective in giving away vaccines is to save lives, regardless of nationality, ideology and religion, making sure the citizens of the world beyond their frontiers are safe and sound. Then, in a year or two, inoculated people around the world could reflect on the good deeds Washington and Beijing did for them and their countries. Vaccine diplomacy can increase mutual respect, benefits and trust among nations.
Thailand's three Myanmar strategies
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 09/03/2021
» With the unexpected coup in Myanmar on Feb 1 and the ensuing violent clashes between protesters and security forces over the past six weeks, Thailand is stuck between a rock and hard place. Thailand's foreign and security policy-makers have adopted three strategies in handling one of the most "difficult political incidents" in a neighbouring country.
RCEP talks shouldn't leave India out
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 19/05/2020
» The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged countries around the world over the past three months and India, the world's largest democracy with 1.4 billion people, has been among the hardest hit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his people just four hours advance notice of the mandatory lockdown on March 24, a measure that continues today and which has caused massive hardship. Worse still, it has directly impacted India's overall economic performance, with serious repercussions on its perceived global leadership role.
Asean must not give up on India ... yet
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 10/12/2019
» Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is flying to New Delhi next week to meet up with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His mission is to convince India to take up the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), for which negotiations were last month completed in Bangkok after seven years. In the wee hours before the official announcement on Nov 4, Mr Modi told Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha that he would personally like very much to sign the pact but India was not yet ready, reiterating that further consultations were still required at home at this crucial juncture. The Asean chair, Thailand, accommodated India's request.