India  / South Asia  / Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Thailand’s relations with India are critical to its interests in the Indo-Pacific
September 28, 2022

When S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister visited Thailand in August, he met with then-Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to sign two low-key agreements on healthcare and medical research. It was an important moment marking 75 years of bilateral ties between the two countries. While on the periphery compared to Thailand’s relations with China and the United States, its relationship with India is growing and is becoming essential as the Kingdom extends itself beyond Southeast Asia.The growing ties between India and Thailand are based on pragmatism and mutually-beneficial goals. The relationship focuses especially on security cooperation and trade, as well as a long history of cultural exchanges.


China  / United Nations
The United Nations Is Having a Very Bad Year
September 24, 2022

As world leaders gather in New York for the seventy-seventh United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the global body has never been more divided, challenged, or starved for leadership. Fundamental reforms promised since Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ first term, have been absent. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are failing, the UN Human Rights Office has arguably bent to the will of China, and humanitarian and climate change-related emergencies are overwhelming UN agencies. Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine reminded member states of dysfunction in the Security Council, as Russia vetoed a resolution that would have mandated that it immediately halt its attack and withdraw all troops, with China, India, and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.


China  / India  / Taiwan
Is It Time for India to Deepen Taiwan Ties?
September 8, 2022

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have reached a fever pitch. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in early August sparked China’s anger, with the PLA engaging in a number of muscle-flexing drills in the South China Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the Bohain Hills. During that frenzied period, little was heard from India. The exception was from Indian External Affairs Spokesman Shri Arindam Bagchi, who urged “the exercise of restraint, avoidance of unilateral actions to change the status quo, de-escalation of tensions and efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.” Further, India vaguely defended the status quo in the region, a mild victory for Beijing. However, with tensions rising and fellow Quad members Japan and the United States asserting their steadfast support for Taiwan, is it now time for India to deepen its ties with Taiwan?


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Is Thailand ‘bending’ toward the United States? Think again
September 2, 2022

Thailand’s foreign policy is famous for “bending in the wind” like bamboo, moving from side to side as it positions itself between China and the United States. Shawn W. Crispin, a highly-respected Southeast Asia observer and journalist recently commented in the Asia Times on Thailand’s latest tilt back toward the United States, citing in part Bangkok’s defiance of China in joining the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and Thai resistance to completing a train project that would connect Thailand to China via Laos. However, assumptions of Bangkok’s perceived defiance of China are premature. 


China  / East Asia  / United Nations
Michelle Bachelet’s Spectacular Fall From Grace
August 31, 2022

Michelle Bachelet came to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights with an impressive political and personal résumé. Her father, Chilean Air Force Gen. Alberto Bachelet, was arrested by the notorious dictator Augusto Pinochet, and was tortured and died behind bars for opposing the coup that brought an end to the presidency of Salvador Allende. Bachelet and her mother were also arrested when she was 23, and endured torture herself at the hands of the regime. Returning from exile, she rose to the top of the Socialist Party in Chile and positioned herself as a key member of a coalition that governed the country for almost two decades after the end of the Pinochet era.


China  / India  / Indo-Pacific  / South Asia  / Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Has Become a China-India Great Power Battleground
August 31, 2022

Since last month, the Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese satellite-tracking vessel, has been slowly sailing from Chinese waters to the Hambantota Port on the southern tip of Sri Lanka. Just months ago, when Sri Lanka was still under the leadership of the Rajapaksas, a political family that had ruled the Sri Lankan ethnocracy for almost two decades, allowing the 730-foot-long Chinese naval ship into port would not have generated as much attention. However, with the small island state suffering its worst economic crisis on record, its indebtedness to Beijing an economic albatross around its neck, and geopolitical tensions between India and China increasing, the ship’s arrival generated plenty of alarm.


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
The Thai PM’s Future Is in the Hands of a Favorable and Predictable Court
August 25, 2022

After Wednesday’s Constitutional Court ruling, Prayut Chan-o-cha stepped down as Thailand’s prime minister, giving way to caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who has, since the planning of the May 2014 coup that brought them both to power, been his deputy. Long regarded as the architect of the military-backed putsch, Prawit takes the helm tarred by past scandals, sporting a poor image with the Thai public, and having been associated with a government that has been hounded by protests and political upheaval. Since the ruling, journalists and commentators speculated on what the Constitutional Court’s decision means for Thailand, for Prayut himself, and for a ruling coalition that has faced a slew of political challenges


East Asia  / Japan
Abe Shinzo Excelled at Foreign Policy, But He Failed Women Badly
August 4, 2022

A lone gunman claimed the life of former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on July 8, shocking a largely violence-free nation. Tributes poured in from all over the world and commentators in many countries praised Abe’s enormous contributions to foreign policy, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, where Japan under his leadership has emerged as a critical regional power. In remembering Abe, however, little has been said about his domestic legacy. On the surface, Abenomics brought about an era of quantitative easing and relatively low unemployment. Abe promised to boost productivity and bring solutions to Japan’s aging society. And while exports grew and Japan had long stretches of positive economic growth, an essential segment of Japan’s population was left largely behind: women.


Cambodia  / Japan  / Myanmar  / Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Abe’s diplomacy in Southeast Asia leaves a lasting legacy
July 22, 2022

In eulogies and memorial commentaries that followed the death of former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated by a homemade shotgun in the city of Nara in July, scholars and statesmen have stressed the importance of his Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision. Some have even credited him with inventing the Indo-Pacific region as a whole. Yet few have properly addressed Abe’s legacy in Southeast Asia. Abe, like many prime ministers before him, had always shown a keen interest in the region. Japan understood the significance of Southeast Asia to Japan’s post-war economic growth, as well as the political ties that would be essential to the maintenance of Japanese security.


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Chuwit neglects the heavy social and economic costs associated with casinos
July 8, 2022

Recently former politician and massage parlor tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit suggested that Thailand, ailing from the after effects of COVID-19, should legalize gambling and encourage the opening of casinos, as a part of an all-inclusive “entertainment complex.” In an effort to offer Thailand’s many visitors a more unique experience, Chuwit recommended four locations: Pattaya, Koh Larn, Bangkok and Phuket, each with its own array of services, including cocktail lounges, massage parlors, and assorted entertainment, including amusement parks. The idea, in principle, is to broaden Thailand’s tourism offerings and boost badly needed revenue for national and local governments. But there’s a flaw in Chuwit’s gambit to loosen Thailand’s grip on one of society’s many vices. It’s a terrible idea.