Showing 1 - 10 of 52
Come clean on Anocha
News, Editorial, Published on 27/01/2016
» The Sundance Film Festival, currently under way in the US state of Utah, has two items of strong interest to Thailand this year. The first is the presence on the jury of Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul, the film director who has won top awards abroad and the ban of the censor at home. This latest, notable achievement deserves praise, but the premiere of a British-made documentary is arguably even more important.
US discovers SE Asia
News, Editorial, Published on 24/04/2017
» One hundred days into the Donald Trump presidency, the United States has realised there is a part of the world it ignored. Vice-President Mike Pence has been in Indonesia, praising its "moderate" Muslims. Mr Trump will attend all three big East Asia summits in November. He also will make official visits to Vietnam and the Philippines. They are the hosts of the summits of the Association of Southeast Asian nations (Asean), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec), and East Asia.
China assails North Korea
News, Editorial, Published on 18/04/2016
» While Thailand was celebrating the traditional new year and South Koreans were watching the final episode of Descendants of the Sun, North Korea was having one of its worst weeks in memory. Of course it wasn't planned that way. It was supposed to be a week of glorious festivities to mark the 104th anniversary of founder Kim Il-sung's birth. Things started falling apart at the planned ballistic missile launch for the annual "Day of the Sun" celebration.
The war over North Korea
News, Editorial, Published on 09/05/2017
» South Korea votes today for a new president. The election shows the world that country is a true democracy. After holding their former president accountable and legally impeaching her, the South Koreans are constitutionally electing a new head of state. This is a true achievement for a country that so recently was a military dictatorship, and shows up the northern half of Korea as a sad but violent nation, important only because of its threats to international peace.
Challenge of contagion
News, Editorial, Published on 05/03/2020
» The exodus of illegal workers from South Korea, the world's No.2 hotspot for Covid-19, has given rise to grave concerns that the disease which has claimed more than 3,200 lives worldwide may well become a pandemic.
Uighurs' plight a lesson for govt
News, Editorial, Published on 09/04/2023
» The case of 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church who were arrested for overstaying visas in Pattaya last week brings back memories of the notorious repatriation of another group of Uighur refugees back to China in 2014.
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.
The trouble with Korea
News, Editorial, Published on 01/11/2017
» The North Korean crisis continues to escalate, without any sign of imminent relief. Japanese voters have renewed the mandate of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, this time to amend the national constitution's prohibition against war. US Defence Secretary James Mattis said last weekend Pyongyang engages in outlaw behaviour. He vowed the US will never accept a nuclear North Korea. South Korean Defence Minister Song Young-moo was at his side.
Asean's role with N Korea
News, Editorial, Published on 17/04/2017
» While Thailand has been partying, the first winds of war in years have been stirred in Northeast Asia. US President Donald Trump has effectively warned North Korea that further nuclear or ballistic missile tests will have physical consequences. Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-un has replied with predictable threats of military retaliation. The region is on tenterhooks, partly because China still refuses to step up responsibly.
A chance to deter N Korea
News, Editorial, Published on 01/08/2017
» The annual meeting of the Asean Regional Forum foreign ministers takes place this week in the Philippines and is likely to overshadow the other top two conferences of the "Asean Week" -- the 10-nation Asean group and the "Asean +3" which includes China, Japan and South Korea.