https://www.scmp.com/rss/268040/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Thitinan Pongsudhirak Thitinan Pongsudhirak When US President Donald Trump’s tariff chaos eventually calms, its long-lasting consequences will significantly affect the area just south of China and east of India – Southeast Asia – and its organisational bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Trump’s focus on protectionism is likely to replace uniform tariffs with varying import taxes for different countries. This shift could create divisive and harmful effects for Southeast Asia and Asean, which are interchangeable but... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3314355/trump-tariffs-challenge-aseans-unity-and-economic-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3314355/trump-tariffs-challenge-aseans-unity-and-economic-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Jun 2025 02:00:10 +0000 After nearly five years of military government and a new constitution, Thailand’s political outlook remains murky. Its planned February 24 election has been delayed multiple times and has been tentatively reset to March 24. Under a 150-day period after enabling laws came into effect, the election process has to be completed by May 9.  Meanwhile, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who initially delayed his succession to the throne after his father's death in 2016, is set to be crowned on May 4. In the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2180777/new-king-will-2019-herald-new-political-normal-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2180777/new-king-will-2019-herald-new-political-normal-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jan 2019 03:30:30 +0000 The unexpected flight of Thailand’s former prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, from a controversial court case over a rice subsidy policy has opened up the country’s political space. Had she appeared in front of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on August 25 and ended up in jail, Thailand’s political temperatures would have heightened markedly. Instead, Thai politics has reached a crossroads after nearly two decades of topsy-turvy instability and turmoil.... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2109401/dont-cry-me-shinawatra-why-yinglucks-bad-luck-good-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2109401/dont-cry-me-shinawatra-why-yinglucks-bad-luck-good-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Sep 2017 01:00:00 +0000 While it is always topsy-turvy and unwieldy, Thailand’s political environment has rarely been as tumultuous as in the past decade, characterised by recurrent street protests along pro- and anti-establishment lines. At issue has been a fragile and contested democracy whereby election winners were inevitably ousted by the powers-that-be who eventually proved unable to win a poll. But Thailand has now reached a new political plateau in the wake of the military government’s successful constitutional... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2018057/why-no-one-wants-rule-thailand-other-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2018057/why-no-one-wants-rule-thailand-other-military?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Sep 2016 04:03:59 +0000 The ruling against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague will be met with relief in the region’s capitals. But it is unlikely to reverse one of Asia’s most worrying trends: an alarming regional arms build-up. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Asia now accounts for almost half of the world’s arms expenditure, which is more than twice the total expenditure of countries in the Middle East. Investors pile... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1990075/hague-ruling-south-china-sea-must-not-fuel-asias-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1990075/hague-ruling-south-china-sea-must-not-fuel-asias-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jul 2016 04:13:26 +0000