Showing 1 - 10 of 167
The perils of creating a power vacuum in Iran
Oped, Stephen Holmes, Published on 05/03/2026
» Critics of the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel point out that US President Donald Trump has no plan for what comes next. And they are not wrong: when Mr Trump boasts that he can resolve wars in a single day, he merely exposes the limits of his attention span. But the real problem is not the shortness of Mr Trump's time horizon; it's the narrowness of his threat perception.
Will poll be breakout or more of same?
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 06/02/2026
» As Thais go to the polls this Sunday, the most consequential question is whether Thailand will finally break out of its debilitating cycle of political instability and economic underperformance that has marked the past two decades. The signs and signals suggest otherwise -- at least not yet.
Our tariff-era dollar, your problem
Oped, Qiyuan Xu, Published on 04/02/2026
» In 2025, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of major currencies, fell by roughly 9.4%. Over the same period, the United States' average effective tariff rate rose by around 14.4 percentage points, from 2.4% to 16.8%, according to the Yale Budget Lab. Taken together, these shifts imply that, in the import trade domain, the US experienced an effective exchange-rate depreciation of around 24%.
The treacherous sycophancy of the populists
Oped, Michael Burleigh, Published on 15/12/2025
» Until a few days ago, it had never crossed my mind that people across Europe -- including Londoners like me -- were living in a strife‑afflicted hell hole, "suffocated" by regulations, stripped of political liberties, and bound for "civilisational erasure". So, it was with some surprise that I read this assessment in the new US National Security Strategy -- a document that echoes pseudo‑intellectual propaganda more than resembling any serious foreign‑policy analysis.
Trade conflicts destroy the planet
Oped, Qiyuan Xu, Published on 12/12/2025
» Tariff wars are often justified as necessary to protect or reshore manufacturing jobs and to improve national security. But, according to new research, these conflicts produce another outcome that is largely overlooked: pollution. When global supply chains are forced into inefficient detours, carbon dioxide emissions rise.
Derelict outpost
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/12/2025
» Re: Toxic threat sweeps all before it", (BP, Dec 1). Your recent report left me more than a little confused about a village I have known for 37 years. The description bore little resemblance to the village I visit maybe four times a week when I visit my local supermarket or withdraw money from the ATM. Those golden years of rafting took place before the highway was constructed over the mountain range.
Thai-Sino ties take new steps
Oped, Zhang Jianwei, Published on 13/11/2025
» In China's diplomacy with neighbouring countries, the friendly relations between China and Thailand have always sparkled. The many "firsts" created in this relationship have vividly demonstrated the special bond of "China and Thailand are as close as one family" as well as a firm belief of the two countries in working hand in hand for common development, bringing great benefits to the people, and setting a shining example of regional cooperation.
Let's just try leaning into your morbid curiosity
Oped, Coltan Scrivner, Published on 30/10/2025
» Film critics Gene Siskel and Johnny Oleksinski have called fans of slasher films like Friday the 13th and Saw "very sick people" and "depraved lunatics who should not be allowed near animals or most other living things". Public outcry around the video game Mortal Kombat in the early 1990s was so extreme that it led to a special US Senate hearing on the topic. Similarly, the recent rise of true crime entertainment has some people wondering if we are becoming desensitised to the horror and seriousness of the events themselves.
The time I really put my foot in it
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 19/10/2025
» A half-hearted spring-cleaning session at home during the week came to a welcome halt when I unearthed a couple of my father's wartime RAF books under a pile of disintegrating paperbacks. The Air Ministry books, published more than 80 years ago, always serve as a reminder of when as a kid I made a faux pas of embarrassing proportions.
Thai and Omani bridge builders
Oped, Pisanu Suvanajata, Published on 08/10/2025
» On the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Sultanate of Oman, last week, the Royal Thai Embassy in Muscat and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman convened a workshop that transcended mere commemoration. It became a working session on how two middle-power nations, distant in geography but close in outlook, can turn shared principles -- dialogue, moderation, and trust -- into practical pathways for peace and stability.