Showing 51 - 60 of 74
Post-Obama America's 'rebalance' to Asia
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/06/2016
» As the United States' presidential election kicks into higher gear with the upcoming nominations of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the Democratic and Republican party candidates vying for top office, Asian countries, and Asean in particular, are concerned about what will happen to outgoing President Barack Obama's "rebalance" (also known as the "pivot") strategy to Asia. The "rebalance" is likely to be a lasting legacy of President Obama's foreign policy accomplishments. It has provided Asian countries from Myanmar and Vietnam to the Philippines with a counterbalance to China's increasing regional footprints. But the future of the rebalance hangs in the balance.
Asean, Southeast Asia are growing apart
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/06/2016
» Nearly five decades after the formation of its regional organisation known as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Southeast Asia as a region faces issues and challenges that hark back to its geographic and conceptual coalescence in the post-colonial period after World War II. So rich in diversity and thus so difficult to cultivate and harness a common identity and organisational coherence and thrust, Southeast Asia is an unnatural region.
Thailand being left behind by neighbours
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 08/04/2016
» If Thailand were to revert and regress from a burgeoning democracy to an entrenching military-authoritarian rule of three or four decades ago, it would not look so out of place in Southeast Asia's mixed neighbourhood of absolutism, communism, and competitive authoritarianism.
China's 'water grab' and its consequences
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 25/03/2016
» China's pattern of regional conduct has come increasingly into focus. It is much less about maintaining the way things have been -- otherwise known as the "status quo" -- and much more about revising the established dynamics and contours in the region to its preferences.
The US-Asean summit put in perspective
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/02/2016
» It is easy to read too much into the first-ever United States-Asean summit. True, the just-concluded top-level gathering between the 10 Asean leaders and President Barack Obama was a watershed in many ways. It underscored America’s attention and intention behind the Obama administration’s geo-strategic “rebalance” to Asia. While the inaugural US-Asean summit was a boon for America’s role in Asia and a mixed bag for Asean’s overall standing, it should have transpired before Mr Obama’s last year in office. Whether it has been too little and has come too late will depend largely on American domestic determinants beyond Asean’s reach.
China conundrum and global implications
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 29/01/2016
» It was not long ago when we were grappling with China's rise and what it meant for the world. Many were concerned about the disruptive challenges China's global ascendancy would bring, and some went so far as to foresee a China-dominated century. The narrative has now shifted. China has reached a growth plateau at home, surrounded by allies and partners of the United States in its geopolitical neighbourhood. China at a standstill or on a downward climb now looks even more worrisome than when it was rising.
Between authoritarianism and democracy
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/01/2016
» So far in the 21st century, political fortunes in Southeast Asian states have been mixed. As the world's only region that harbours all political regimes from absolutism in Brunei and authoritarianism in Thailand to thriving democracy in Indonesia and communist one-party rule in Vietnam, Southeast Asia's political future will likely be sandwiched between a rule by the few and government by the majority. The determinant of future regime pathways in this region may well be the performance of China on one hand and India and Japan on the other, the largest and most consequent major powers in the neighbourhood.
NE Asia summit shows SE Asia weaknesses
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 13/11/2015
» Although it papered over differences, the recent resumption of a summit meeting among China, Japan and South Korea has cooled bilateral tensions in Northeast Asia with longer-term implications for Southeast Asia.
Myanmar reflects Asean domestic dilemmas
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/11/2015
» Myanmar's momentous elections on Sunday have a familiar ring to them. Now, just like 25 years ago, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), spearheaded by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is poised to thump the military-led Union Solidarity and Development Part (USDP) by a resounding margin.
Thai luck runs out with attack on shrine
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 04/09/2015
» For a country that has done so well for so long in navigating the treacherous waters of international life, Thailand's luck may have run out with the bomb attack on the Erawan shrine in central Bangkok on Aug 17.