Showing 1 - 10 of 68
Don't just keep relying on luck
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/02/2012
» Faraway tensions from the precarious brinkmanship in the Middle East have reached Thai soil with the apparent terrorist bungle in central Bangkok. The government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra continues to deny international terrorist presence in Thailand, but the weight of evidence increasingly points to the contrary. Thailand is a soft target among third-country theatres of operation. Unless the Thai authorities beef up their security measures and conduct deft diplomacy in the near term, the risk of this easygoing country degenerating from a transit point for illicit crimes to an outright staging ground of international terrorist violence will grow.
The politics of the Nasa controversy
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/07/2012
» Thai quipsters have put it aptly _ it is now easier for the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to go to the Moon than to come to Thailand, now that the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has opted for parliamentary debate instead of a cabinet resolution.
The rise of CLMT and the need for more G-2
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 16/11/2012
» Newly re-elected United States President Barack Obama is due for a visit to Southeast Asia at its most momentous and contentious juncture in contemporary times.
Power shift from West to East requires visa reciprocity
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 04/04/2013
» Much has been said of the ongoing global power shift from West to East, from North to South, from developed to developing countries, and so forth.
Cooperation key at Preah Vihear, whatever ICJ decides
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/04/2013
» Few matters of international importance have captivated national attention in Thailand quite like the televised contest over the Preah Vihear temple area at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week.
Thailand should let go of Dawei pipedream
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 31/05/2013
» No matter how hard it tries, the government keeps coming up short on its planned development of the Dawei deep-sea port in Myanmar.
Sputtering populism turns up political temperature
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/07/2013
» As it approaches the midway point of its four-year term next month, the Yingluck Shinawatra government's broad policy platform appears to be sputtering.
Pheu Thai can win, but at what cost?
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/08/2013
» Those puzzled by the recurrent political turmoil over the past decade should look at the past few weeks in Bangkok as a microcosm of the trials and tribulations of Thai democracy.
Thai military's cradle of political power
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/10/2014
» From a promising period of de-politicisation in the late 1990s to a manipulative re-politicisation in the early 2000s, Thailand's military has come full circle.
Deft diplomacy needed for coup period
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/02/2015
» The recent brouhaha over controversial comments by visiting United States Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel has further complicated the bilateral treaty alliance between Bangkok and Washington.