Thailand

Politics

Thailand's Constitutional Court dismissed a complaint alleging that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is exercising undue control over the ruling Pheu Thai party, or PTP, which he founded though is no longer a member of, and is using that influence to undermine the country's monarchy, The Bangkok Post reported Nov. 22.

Thailand: Dissolution Threat Against Ruling Party Dismissed, Other Cases Still Pending

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The BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, adopted its summit declaration, which noted the creation of a BRICS "partner country" status, Reuters reported on Oct. 23.

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

The Thai Election Commission is launching an investigation into the ruling Pheu Thai party, or PTP, that could lead to its dissolution, The Straits Times reported on Oct. 18. 

Thailand: Latest Probe Targets Ruling Party

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra issued a policy statement marking the official start of her government in which she laid out her Pheu Thai Party's vision, including a restructuring of the party's flagship digital wallet program and investing in infrastructure, The Bangkok Post reported Sept. 12.

Thailand: New Prime Minister Lays Out Policy Agenda Amid Early Efforts for Another Ouster

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Ministers from the 11-country Asia Zero Emissions Community, or AZEC, agreed to establish an Asian supply chain for sustainable fuel at a meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 21.

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

Thailand's Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin of the the ruling Pheu Thai Party, or PTP, and his Cabinet from office after finding him guilty of an ethics violation, the Bangkok Post reported on Aug. 14.

Thailand: Constitutional Court Removes Prime Minister Over Ethics Violation

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Thailand's Constitutional Court dissolved the main opposition Move Forward Party, or MFP, on the grounds that its platform was tantamount to calling to overthrow the monarchy, the Bangkok Post reported on Aug. 7.

Thailand: Court Dissolves Country's Most Popular Party

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Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) began their annual meeting on July 25 in Vientiane, Laos, Nikkei Asia has reported.

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

Assessments

The Geopolitics of Water

Amid pressing energy and geopolitical needs, the accelerating construction of upstream dams will exacerbate the Mekong River region's water shortages and environmental degradation.

The Geopolitics of Water: National Interests Sideline Environmental Concerns in the Mekong River Region

Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (center) and other ASEAN leaders take part in the 2024 ASEAN summit in Vientiane on Oct. 9, 2024. 

The deals signed at the summit reflect an increasing focus on economic integration amid the Southeast Asian bloc's continued failure to find consensus on security issues.

Reviewing the 2024 ASEAN Summit

United States

The flags of ASEAN members are displayed at a naval base during the ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Batam, Natuna regency, Riau Islands province, Indonesia, on Sept. 20, 2023. 

ASEAN's economic and geopolitical diversity will impede significant progress toward deeper integration, despite members' intention to collaborate more closely.

Economic and Geopolitical Diversity Hinders ASEAN's Path to Deeper Integration

Snapshots

Former Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin addresses the media after the Thai Constitutional Court removed him from office Aug. 14 in Bangkok.

The removal of the Thai prime minister represents the military establishment's latest attempt to impose its influence on the government, which in the coming months and years will continue to constrain Thailand's economic growth while stoking social unrest.

The Thai Military Establishment Replaces Another Prime Minister

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin watches a race during the F1 Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, on May 19, 2024.

Three legal cases against prominent political figures portend renewed protests and policy paralysis that will weigh on Thailand's fragile economy.

Thai Politics Undergoes Another Round of Instability

An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2022, shows solar panels at the Sao Mai solar energy plant in Vietnam’s An Giang province. 

Several ASEAN countries are on track to develop substantial renewable power capacities in the short term, but technical, political and financial constraints, coupled with incentives to keep burning fossil fuels, will impede long-term decarbonization goals.

The Challenges Facing Southeast Asia's Decarbonization

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech at the gala dinner for the ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2023. 

Over the next year, Tokyo will provide ASEAN countries with military equipment and more infrastructure investment, which will raise threat perceptions and further deteriorate Japan's ties with China.

The Implications of Japan's Growing Interest in Southeast Asia

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) delivers an opening address at the start of a bilateral meeting with Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone (L) at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 16, 2023.

Laos' vulnerabilities will weaken its ASEAN chairmanship, although the bloc's economic interconnectivity will likely continue to grow.

Laos' Limitations Portend a Lukewarm Year for ASEAN

Regional leaders pose for a group photo before the ASEAN-Australia summit, held as part of the 43rd ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 7, 2023. From left to right stand the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indonesia's President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Laos' Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

U.S.-China Relations

ASEAN's most recent summit underscored chronic passivity within the bloc that will only worsen in 2024. 

Amid ASEAN's Inaction, the Block's Members Look to External Partners for Security

Thailand's newly appointed prime minister, Srettha Thavisin (center), greets supporters at his Pheu Thai Party's headquarters in Bangkok on Aug. 22, 2023.

The government marks a compromise between erstwhile rivals and marginalizes the pro-democracy movement, but economic recovery will prove challenging.

After Months of Gridlock, Thailand Appoints a New Government

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Will Thailand's election winner be able to form a government?

Essential Geopolitics: Government Formation Gridlock in Thailand

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The Chandrayaan-3 lander. The Indian Space Research Organization is scheduled to launch its Chandrayaan-3 moon mission July 14.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Macron Welcomes Modi for Bastille Day, a UPS Strike Looms

Located in Southeast Asia, Thailand is bordered by Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. The core of modern Thailand lies on the flat, rich lowlands in the central Chao Phraya River basin. This basin is one of the world's most fertile agricultural areas, growing mostly rice and fruits. As a result, it became a political and economic center, where Bangkok, the country's capital, was founded.    Thailand’s strategic location between Indochina and the Andaman and South China seas, along with its agricultural resources, has historically made it a target of foreign invasion. Therefore, Thailand’s main geographic challenge is protecting its core from invaders while consolidating power in its diverse outlying regions.    Protected in the north by mountains and the Khorat Plateau, Thailand’s biggest external threats have come through the Tenasserim mountain range from Myanmar or from Cambodia to the east. But Thailand’s central location also helped prevent its colonization, as the French and British used it as a buffer between each other's empires.    Thailand’s geography has also presented internal challenges. In the northwest, mountainous terrain has prevented the area from being easily controlled, fostering political struggles in modern times between these provinces and Bangkok. Annexed in the early 20th century, southern Thailand has an ethnically Malay, Muslim majority and continues to resist Bangkok through low-level insurgency and violence. Although Thailand's size, location and arable land allow it to exert influence regionally, its unwieldy periphery and occasionally hostile neighbors will continue to present it with challenges.

SITUATION REPORTS

Thailand: Dissolution Threat Against Ruling Party Dismissed, Other Cases Still Pending

BRICS: Bloc Creates Partner Status, Extends Status to 13 Countries

Thailand: Latest Probe Targets Ruling Party

Thailand: New Prime Minister Lays Out Policy Agenda Amid Early Efforts for Another Ouster

Asia-Pacific: AZEC Countries To Collaborate on Sustainable Fuel Supply Chains

Thailand: Constitutional Court Removes Prime Minister Over Ethics Violation

Thailand: Court Dissolves Country's Most Popular Party

ASEAN: Foreign Ministers Meet in Laos for Annual Summit

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