Showing 1 - 10 of 50
New tech disrupts global order
Oped, Mark Blyth & Daniel Driscoll, Published on 18/11/2025
» News media tend to focus on the world's major powers because they command more resources by dint of their relatively larger economies, militaries and energy endowments. But there are costs to such dominance. For example, a single American Gerald R Ford-class aircraft carrier costs $13 billion (421.6 billion baht), while the F-35 fighter jet costs about $100 million. So, if you can build your military equipment for less than your opponent, you can gain a strategic advantage.
Little sympathy
Oped, Postbag, Published on 11/09/2025
» Re: "Act now, as Suu Kyi is gravely ill", (Opinion, Sept 10). The problem with most activists and this freedom fighter is that they are very good at finding fault in others, not themselves. In a world where charisma trumps character, forgive the pun: Ms Suu Kyi is no exception.
Trump's govt makes peace in Kyiv a priority
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 21/08/2025
» The landmark political summit between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, set in the geographical majesty of Alaska, offered the opening scenes to what could be the long-sought path to peace in Ukraine. Yet few genuine diplomatic observers presumed a political deal could be "done in a day" to bridge the yawning trust gap between the ongoing Russian aggression and beleaguered Ukraine.
The promise and peril of Bangladesh's 'youthquake'
Oped, M Niaz Asadullah, Published on 20/08/2025
» The past year has been marked by a series of revolutions and political shocks as young people across Asia and Africa have taken to the streets, demanding accountable governments, fairer societies, and economic opportunities -- a wave of resistance that Binaifer Nowrojee has aptly termed "youthquakes".
Time to act on information warfare
Oped, Pawat Satayanurug, Published on 01/08/2025
» As tensions escalate along the Thai-Cambodian border, the unfolding conflict has become not only a confrontation of arms but also a war of narratives. For many in Thailand, this is the first time war has felt real. Not distant, not historical, but tangible: fighter jets in the sky, news of casualties, fear seeping into the national consciousness.
Ishiba's summit absence shows lack of Nato faith
Oped, Sayuri Romei and Alice Dell'Era, Published on 21/07/2025
» Since a Japanese prime minister first attended a Nato summit in 2022, Japan has sent its highest-level representative to the event for three consecutive years. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a key catalyst for Tokyo's decision to attend that year, and the 2025 summit in The Hague would have marked the fourth consecutive appearance by a Japanese leader.
Southeast Asia facing hidden extremist threat
Oped, Muhammad Makmun Rasyid, Published on 07/07/2025
» In May, Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit arrested an 18-year-old man in Gowa, South Sulawesi, on charges of spreading Islamic State (IS) propaganda and inciting bomb attacks on social media. Identified only as MAS, the suspect represents a deeply troubling development in Southeast Asia's struggle against terrorism: the rise of youth radicalisation driven entirely by online exposure.
US-China trade truce didn't solve rare earths riddle
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 27/06/2025
» Amid the swirl of headlines about a US-China trade breakthrough in London on June 11, it is reported that US President Donald Trump said the US and China had made a "great deal" -- with China agreeing to supply US companies with magnets and rare earth metals, while the US would walk back its threats to revoke visas of Chinese students.
US hard power must get harder
Oped, Todd G. Buchholz & Michael Mindlin, Published on 05/06/2025
» In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford gets his biggest laugh when a desert assassin twirls a scimitar with menacing bravado. Following this brief performance, Ford's character cracks a wry smile, takes out his pistol, and shoots the man dead. In a potential contest with China, the United States looks more like the medieval assassin, deploying young sailors and soldiers equipped with perilously outdated, vulnerable technology.
The essence of Thailand in one phrase
Oped, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 05/06/2025
» The glossy brochures tell you it's "The Land of Smiles" or maybe it's just "amazing". Slightly more sophisticated takes suggest the essence of Thailand can be found in its unique expressions of showing consideration to others in the context of a hierarchy.