United States

China

Thailand

Economics

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is in San Francisco pitching a governmental land bridge project to foreign investors, The Bangkok Post reported Nov. 14. 

Thailand: Prime Minister Seeks Foreign Investment for Land Bridge

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will go forward with his flagship $15 billion digital money handout policy despite receiving warnings from 99 economists, including former Bank of Thailand governors, as well as criticism from the current central bank governor and the chair of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Nikkei Asia reported on Oct. 13. 

Thailand: Prime Minister Committed to Cash Handout Despite Warnings From Economists

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Malaysia

Myanmar

Singapore

Vietnam

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Rice prices are up more than 40% in Southeast Asia since late 2022 amid India's rice export ban instituted on July 20 and El Nino conditions that are reducing rice output from harvests, BenarNews reported on Sept. 29.

Southeast Asia: Food Insecurity on the Rise Amid Rice Export Bans, El Nino

Politics

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) is preparing to seek a royal pardon for convictions of corruption and abuse of power, the Bangkok Post reported on Aug. 30.

Thailand: Thaksin Prepares Royal Pardon Application as Pheu Thai Leader Quits

Thailand's legislature elected the center-left Pheu Thai Party's (PTP) candidate Srettha Thavisin as prime minister, the Bangkok Post reported on Aug. 22.

Thailand: Political Deadlock Ends as Srettha Is Elected Premier

Military & Security

Indonesia is tapping local fishers in the Natuna islands to watch for and report illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and incursions by foreign forces, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 18.

Indonesia: Jakarta Turns to Local Natuna Fishers for Maritime Security

Thailand's center-left Pheu Thai Party (PTP) announced that it would nominate real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin for prime minister in an Aug. 4 parliamentary vote, and that the anti-monarchy Move Forward Party (MFP) would not be part of this movement, Reuter reported on Aug. 2.

Thailand: Pheu Thai to Propose New Coalition, Spur Protests

Thailand's Pheu Thai Party (PTP) will nominate Srettha Thavisin for prime minister if the National Assembly does not elect Move Forward Party (MFP) chief Pita Limjaroenrat in his second bid to ascend to the position on July 19, the Bangkok Post reported on July 18. 

Thailand: Pita Agrees to Conditionally Step Aside as New Candidate Emerges

Snapshots

Laos

Philippines

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

Assessments

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

Media

Podcasts

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

Essential Geopolitics: Government Formation Gridlock in Thailand

France

Ukraine

India

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

Brazil

Europe

French police officers in riot gear stand guard and hold tear gas canister launchers next to the facade of a damaged Apple Store in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 30, 2023.

The Weekly Rundown: Riots Rage On in France, Brazil Assumes the Mercosur Presidency

A car with members of Thailand's opposition Move Forward Party (MFP), including leader Pita Limjaroenrat, drives through a large crowd of supporters during a rally in Bangkok on May 15, 2023, following the MFP's victory in the general election. 

As expected, Thailand's two main opposition parties dominated the May 14 general election. But the military establishment will seek to leverage its institutional controls to retain power.

Despite Their Electoral Victory, Thai Opposition Parties Will Struggle To Form a Government

Turkey

Japan

Russia

Supporters of AKP and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 12, 2023, in Istanbul.

The Weekly Rundown: A G-7 Summit in Japan, Significant Elections in Turkey

Thai flags March 4, 2023, on the side of the parliament complex in Bangkok. Thailand is headed for early elections that favor continued military-backed rule, but a resurgent opposition portends a highly contentious election process, potential unrest, and implications for alignment between China and the United States.

Thailand is headed for early elections that favor continued military-backed rule, but a resurgent opposition portends a highly contentious election process and potential unrest.

Thailand Braces for Potential Chaos as Early Elections Loom

A Chinese coast guard ship sails past anchored Philippine fishing boats in the Scarborough Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea, on Feb. 3, 2023.

A binding code of conduct in the South China Sea remains unlikely, despite the resumption of negotiations between claimant states.

With No Deal in Sight, South China Sea Claimants Continue to Militarize

Egypt

Israel

United Kingdom

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani (2 L) speaks during the G-20 Finance Ministers Meeting on July 15, 2022, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Indonesia will host the annual G-20 summit on Nov. 15-16.

Energy

The Weekly Rundown: Indonesia Hosts a G-20 Summit, Netanyahu Seeks to Build a New Government

People visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, in June 2020, as it reopened for visitors amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. 

China's strict COVID-19 restrictions are unlikely to ease anytime soon, depriving the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand of billions of dollars of revenue once generated by Chinese tourists.

A Prolonged Absence of Chinese Visitors Will Plague Southeast Asia's Economic Recovery

Australia

New Zealand

South Korea

A photo taken on May 23, 2022, in Tokyo shows U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending a video call with leaders from countries in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. 

Supply Chains

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

The narrow scope of the initiative will limit its effectiveness in achieving Washington’s goal of countering China’s regional rise.

The Stumbling Blocks of Biden's New Indo-Pacific Economic Bloc

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.

Southeast Asia: Burdened by Consensus

SITUATION REPORTS

Thailand: Prime Minister Seeks Foreign Investment for Land Bridge

Thailand: Prime Minister Committed to Cash Handout Despite Warnings From Economists

Southeast Asia: Food Insecurity on the Rise Amid Rice Export Bans, El Nino

Thailand: Thaksin Prepares Royal Pardon Application as Pheu Thai Leader Quits

Thailand: Political Deadlock Ends as Srettha Is Elected Premier

Indonesia: Jakarta Turns to Local Natuna Fishers for Maritime Security

Thailand: Pheu Thai to Propose New Coalition, Spur Protests

Thailand: Pita Agrees to Conditionally Step Aside as New Candidate Emerges

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