Showing 1 - 10 of 533
Fanatics, an obsessive, and a belligerent fool
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/04/2026
» We don't have to look very far to find a useful historical analogy for the current crisis in the Middle East. In 1967, Egypt closed the Strait of Tiran to Israeli ships, and Israel replied with a surprise air attack that destroyed almost the entire Egyptian air force on the ground.
Can alliances with the US be replaced?
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 07/04/2026
» The increasingly loud debate over the future of alliances -- after reports that the US could scale back or even withdraw from Nato -- is nerve-racking. It has caused alarm across Europe and in Southeast Asia, another node of the US alliance network. Even without any official decision, remarks by US President Donald Trump on social media were enough to shake already fragile US alliances. The question now frequently asked by Thai policymakers is: What comes next if alliances weaken?
Will Kharg Island decide the future of US alliances?
Oped, Carla Norrlöf, Published on 03/04/2026
» The key question about Iran's energy-export terminal on Kharg Island is not whether the United States can seize or disable it. Of course it can.
Russia is winning the Iran War
Oped, Chris Patten, Published on 02/04/2026
» While the rationale for US President Donald Trump's Iran war is difficult to decipher, its main beneficiary is far easier to identify: Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Oil post draws fire
Oped, Editorial, Published on 01/04/2026
» After a month of ham-fisted oil crisis management, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul appears to be moving in the right direction.
Gulf states tell US ending the war is not enough
Oped, Samia Nakhoul, Published on 31/03/2026
» Gulf Arab states are telling the US that any deal with Tehran should do more than end the war, and must permanently curb Iran's missile and drone capabilities and ensure global energy supplies are never again "weaponised", four Gulf sources said.
Rethinking Thailand's visa-free policy
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 31/03/2026
» Thailand is planning to cut visa-free stays from 60 days to 30 days. This long-overdue change reflects growing concern over the effectiveness of immigration surveillance. Moreover, scaling down visa-free stays underscores the seriousness of the Anutin government's efforts to combat scammers, illegal work, and other underground activities that exploit easy visa access to turn Thailand into a base for under-the-table operations.
Trump goes off-script, US gone rogue
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 27/03/2026
» It was not supposed to work like this. "America First" and "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) were supposed to be about an inward turn to repair, replenish and rebuild an externally overstretched and internally weakened country, weighed down by unnecessary global entanglements, unsustainable national debt, and unimpeded mass migration. It seemed for a time that the MAGA movement to prioritise America above and beyond the international system and its constituent parts had found its final prophet in President Donald J Trump. But now, somehow, President Trump has betrayed the movement that has carried him to office by waging a disastrous war on Iran in cooperation with Israel.
Power rivalry heats up Mekong region
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 24/03/2026
» The Thai saying, maenam maimee promdan (rivers have no boundaries), fittingly applies to the mighty Mekong River, known in China as the Lancang.
Anutin's first big test
Oped, Editorial, Published on 23/03/2026
» The latest escalation in the Middle East targeting energy infrastructure is not merely another flurry of geopolitical tension, but a systemic shock to the global order with the potential to reverberate far beyond oil markets.