Showing 1 - 10 of 1,239
Asean must grab its rare-earth shot
News, Published on 22/11/2025
» US President Donald Trump's return to Southeast Asia last month felt like a rerun -- tariffs, tough talk, and televised deals. But this time, he left behind more than headlines. From Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi, Mr Trump inked trade pacts promising tariff relief on US exports in exchange for joint ventures in mining and refining the rare-earth minerals that power the world's clean-tech boom.
Rein in online stars
News, Editorial, Published on 22/11/2025
» When citizens resort to legal action against social media influencers for misinformation, dangerous stunts, or inappropriate behaviour, it is time to discuss curbing such behaviour online.
Thailand–Japan ties at a crossroads
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 18/11/2025
» For the past four decades, Thailand-Japan ties have been smooth as silk, reflecting the Japanese concept of ishin denshin, an idiom that describes communication without words. That idiom reflects a very good relationship, a deep mutual understanding between the two parties.
Southeast Asia squeezed by superpowers
News, Published on 15/11/2025
» Southeast Asian nations are in a bind. While the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (Asean) exporters face increasing pressure from US tariffs and heightened scrutiny of transshipments, their domestic markets are increasingly being dominated by Chinese goods.
Why climate finance is no longer enough
Oped, Published on 11/11/2025
» With the UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, kicking off, it is clear that the world's widely shared commitment to a just energy transition is falling by the wayside. In the year since governments signed on to the agreement at COP29 to scale up climate finance -- with a goal of mobilising $1.3 trillion (42 trillion baht) annually by 2035 -- wealthy countries have been retreating from their pledges. Worse, these signs of bad faith are coming just as the costs of climate adaptation and decarbonisation in developing countries are mounting.
Is Takaichi Sanae the 'Iron Lady' of Japan?
Oped, Koichi Hamada, Published on 10/11/2025
» For the first time in its history, Japan's parliament has selected a woman, Takaichi Sanae of the Liberal Democratic Party, to be prime minister. In this sense, Ms Takaichi has already followed in the footsteps of her political idol, Margaret Thatcher -- the UK's first female PM. But whether she is remembered as Japan's own "Iron Lady" will depend on her ability to manage three key challenges: inflation, low female labour-force participation and a fraught geopolitical environment.
No excuse for abuse
News, Editorial, Published on 08/11/2025
» The International Labour Organization estimated in 2021 that 27.6 million people were victims of forced labour, including sexual exploitation -- a global challenge that remains a serious concern for Thailand as well.
The effects of unfinished momentum
News, Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, Published on 08/11/2025
» Why do some nations surge confidently into the future while others advance only in half-steps, not declining but not accelerating either? In their influential book Why Nations Fail (first published in 2012), Daron Acemoglu -- now a Nobel Prize economist -- and James Robinson, both economists and political scientists at the University of Chicago, offer a helpful lens for understanding Thailand's development path without casting blame or provoking division.
Digesting Trump's trip through Asia
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/11/2025
» Storming through Asia last week, US President Donald Trump's first stop in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 26, before moving on to Japan and South Korea over the next four days, capped by his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping before returning to Washington, was the most consequential for Southeast Asian economies.
Carbon capture, hydrogen and net zero
Oped, Published on 05/11/2025
» Solar farms, wind turbines, and electric vehicles are crucial to slashing carbon emissions, but they can't carry Thailand all the way to net zero.