Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Land Bridge built on shaky science
Editorial, Published on 23/11/2025
» The planned Land Bridge megaproject and its deep-sea ports in the South pose no environmental threats because the seas there are already barren -- or so the government's study claims. Science, however, shows the opposite.
Momentum for peace
News, Editorial, Published on 26/02/2019
» The cast is assembling in Hanoi for a performance probably worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. Trump-Kim Summit II isn't likely to produce anything resembling nuclear disarmament. But the personal diplomacy of the US president and North Korea's leader has indisputably removed the threat of the most terrible kind of warfare from Northeast Asia and the entire region.
PM, a plan and a canal
News, Editorial, Published on 31/10/2018
» Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has taken the right steps over the latest resurrection of the Kra Canal. But that doesn't mean he's going to get much support or win over public opinion on the matter. By ordering two new studies into updated proposals for building the canal, he will get criticism from both sides. Proponents of what they want to call the "Thai Canal" think he is taking too long and opponents of the proposal believe he should do nothing.
Pyongyang steps out
News, Editorial, Published on 25/09/2018
» Last week's summit between the leaders of South Korea and North Korea piles more hope on the chances for peace and a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. There are plenty of hurdles left, however, and Pyongyang must work hard to leave behind its lamentable record of resorting to bait-and-switch tactics. But what is known and sensed from the talks between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un provides optimism. North Korea may finally be ready to accept the invitation to emerge as part of the responsible world community.
Keep pressure on N Korea
News, Editorial, Published on 08/08/2018
» The harsh words and wavering debate about North Korea that emerged from the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) are disconcerting. The foreign ministers of the US and Japan urged members of the Forum it is vital to keep tight sanctions on Pyongyang until there is clear progress towards what now is generally called denuclearisation. One voice, North Korea's Ri Yong-ho, demanded relief from sanctions. But the forum quite properly decided his argument that Pyongyang deserves relief for showing good faith was unconvincing and invalid.
Good start at nuke summit
News, Editorial, Published on 13/06/2018
» It's a long road from a handshake to peace with nuclear disarmament. That said, the first meeting ever between a sitting US president and the leader of North Korea Tuesday seemed the best first step possible on that road. Neither Donald Trump nor Kim Jong-un has been kidding during the month-long lead-up to their summit. This meeting alone makes war in the region unlikely. The mood between the two men and their advisers spoke well for a peaceful future.
A summit to prevent war
News, Editorial, Published on 31/05/2018
» It is taking feverish preparations to bring about the June 12 Singapore summit between the two most extroverted world political leaders. Presumably, US President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un are back on schedule for their meeting. It is necessary to say "presumably" because this summit has gone from impossibility to certainty, then from unlikely to cancelled, and now "back on schedule". Two weeks out, the summit offers some promise of being the most important such meeting of our age.
Signs of hope after summit
News, Editorial, Published on 28/04/2018
» Rogue regime leader Kim Jong-un has laid his cards on the table following the first meeting in a decade between North and South Korea yesterday. Now it is up to South Korea and the United States to play their cards right to prevent what appears to be a roadmap to a peace treaty from collapsing.
Support the marine plan
News, Editorial, Published on 26/03/2018
» The government should immediately get behind, approve and regulate a plan unveiled last week to protect marine parks and life. The plan, produced by an environmental strategy group, requires an enforced ceiling on visitors to the country's 22 marine national parks. Not only is this project a chance to protect and preserve coral, beaches, fish and islands, but it's a prime opportunity across several departments and ministries to promote new technology and help move along the Thailand 4.0 effort.