Category: Thailand

Thailand and the United States are engaging in a Strategic Dialogue for the first time in two years, a move that has raised eyebrows among commentators and policy watchers. Attended by Thailand’s Permanent Secretary for…

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to visit Thailand on his imminent tour throughout Southeast Asia, as part of Golden Week, a series of four Japanese holidays from the end of April to early May.  The…

This May, voters in the Philippines will elect the son of a notorious dictator. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., or “Bongbong”, is the top candidate to replace Rodrigo Duterte as President. Polls show the younger Marcos with…

It was clear from the moment that Noi Don Kha Pracha Samakkee School in the Khong Chai District of  Kalasin Province announced in their advertisement that something was again wrong in Thai education. The rural school was…

Narin Kulpongsathron, a 33-year old activist, was recently convicted under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code on March 4 for defacing a portrait of Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn. Otherwise known as lèse majesté, which prohibits the…

In the Muang Sam Sip District of Ubon Ratchathani, an 11-year old boy was recently the victim of physical harm at the hands of his teacher. In demanding that the child cut his hair, which in…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption in Southeast Asia, in terms of the number of deaths, the livelihoods lost, and the major interruptions to supply chains. Moreover, the recent rise in inflation, which has…

As the calendar turned to February, it brought the solemn first anniversary of the 1 February 2021 military coup d’état in Myanmar, which saw the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) ousted from power.  Since then,…

2021 did not augur well for many in Southeast Asia. One month in, a military coup occurred in Myanmar, implemented by generals who were humiliated at the ballot box the previous November, ousting the democratically-elected…

US secretary of state Antony Blinken almost made it to Thailand. Blinken had planned to visit his counterpart, Thai foreign minister Don Pramudwinai, but a journalist following the secretary tested positive for Covid-19. linken’s Thailand visit…