https://www.scmp.com/rss/513454/feed Aidan Jones is a Senior Correspondent on SCMP's Asia desk. He previously worked at the Agence France-Presse. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Myanmar’s weak economy is being brutally exposed to the fuel crisis, with farmers unable to fill up tractors to work their fields and a fertiliser shortage caused by the throttling of the Strait of Hormuz threatening food security just as the planting season begins. Battered by civil war and runaway inflation, and with a quarter of its population already lacking sufficient food, Myanmar is poorly positioned to absorb the oil shock and its cascading effects on an economy that is among the most... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349380/myanmars-food-security-crisis-fuel-fertiliser-shortages-threaten-fragile-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349380/myanmars-food-security-crisis-fuel-fertiliser-shortages-threaten-fragile-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:06:26 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones From sea transfers by smugglers and hoarding to stockpiling underground, profiteering from the oil crunch in Thailand has exacerbated a supply crisis that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul warned on Monday was about to worsen, given the country’s reliance on fuel imports. As diesel pump prices hit an all-time high of around 50 baht (US$1.54) a litre on Monday, Justice Minister Major-General Rutthaphon Naowarat told reporters that “oil has definitely gone missing”, saying it was too early to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349177/oil-smugglers-hoarders-thailand-worsen-supply-crisis-anutin-warns-tough-times?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349177/oil-smugglers-hoarders-thailand-worsen-supply-crisis-anutin-warns-tough-times?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:19:54 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A dawn gloom hangs over the pier in Bangsaray, eastern Thailand, as buyers arrive to wait for the first fishing boats to return. But like everyone else relying on the day’s catch they have already lost money to someone else’s war. Thailand’s multibillion-dollar fishing industry has been brought to its knees by the runaway price of diesel, a result of Iran’s throttling of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US and Israel’s attacks. Half of the kingdom’s vast fishing fleet is already docked,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348972/thailands-us7-billion-fishing-industry-sinks-iran-war-hits-fuel-costs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348972/thailands-us7-billion-fishing-industry-sinks-iran-war-hits-fuel-costs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:21 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones His makeover from junta chief to president now complete, Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing may seek to tiptoe back into the international fold as a civilian leader. But critics say the change is just a “veneer” that poses a challenge for Asean, the regional bloc that has frozen out Myanmar from its top summits, while its military wages war on its own people. On Friday, a parliament stuffed with military loyalists made Min Aung Hlaing president. They were put there by an election held five years after... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348909/myanmars-junta-chief-min-aung-hlaing-wins-parliamentary-vote-become-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348909/myanmars-junta-chief-min-aung-hlaing-wins-parliamentary-vote-become-president?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 06:00:59 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A Thai undertaker’s extreme mission to prove he was not hoarding fuel went viral over the weekend after he brought a coffin containing a body to a petrol station to convince attendants the extra fuel he needed was for cremation, not black market resale. Thais have been pressed into energy-saving mode by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has throttled oil and gas supplies to much of Asia. Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul insists there is enough fuel for over three months, while the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348358/thai-undertaker-brings-corpse-petrol-station-prove-fuel-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3348358/thai-undertaker-brings-corpse-petrol-station-prove-fuel-need?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 05:50:34 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Young, naive and now sleeping rough on a plastic sheet outside their embassy in Phnom Penh, Indonesians Abdul* and Hafiz* are among the expendable human resources of Southeast Asia’s scam trade. After a year-long tumble through Cambodia’s vortex of scams, they were cast out onto a pavement – penniless and without passports – waiting for the embassy to issue new travel documents and a plane ticket home. “Our Chinese boss stole all of our passports,” said Abdul, 20, gesturing to a dozen or so of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348190/cambodias-scam-crackdown-deadline-looms-criminal-gangs-flee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3348190/cambodias-scam-crackdown-deadline-looms-criminal-gangs-flee?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 02:00:10 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A cornucopia of bargains is lighting up booking sites for Thailand, where five-star luxury hotel rooms are going for huge discounts during the peak holiday season – the unplanned spin-off from the Iran war which threatens to hit international tourist arrivals at a crucial time of the year. At the same time, the surge in diesel costs caused by the choking of the Strait of Hormuz has forced many Thais to pause or scrap domestic travel plans, fearing such expenses will continue to rise during the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348162/thai-luxury-hotels-offer-huge-discounts-save-tourist-season-battered-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3348162/thai-luxury-hotels-offer-huge-discounts-save-tourist-season-battered-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 09:42:29 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Daniel Gech looks at prices on a board at a Sokimex petrol station in Phnom Penh and winces. Four weeks into the war in the Middle East, the ripple effects of a faraway conflict are beginning to threaten the Cambodian teenager’s ability to earn and learn. The 16-year-old uses his moped to travel between his home and school, and for his work in the evening. It now costs him an extra US$2 a day to fill up his tank – or US$14 a week – and the price is rising, a significant surge in a country where... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3347608/why-southeast-asian-nations-are-vulnerable-fuel-crisis-iran-war-rages?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3347608/why-southeast-asian-nations-are-vulnerable-fuel-crisis-iran-war-rages?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:14:21 +0000 Aidan Jones,Kolette Lim Aidan Jones,Kolette Lim Death is the family business for Viroj Suriyasenee, a second-generation Thai funeral director. His bespoke coffins range from plain wooden boxes to ornate creations trimmed in gold with plush red velvet interiors, priced anywhere from US$30 to US$30,000 – each one representing a story of loss, grief and a life concluded. They also speak to the sheer scale of Asia’s ever-growing, multibillion-dollar death economy. All the coffins Viroj makes are destined for the cremation furnace, yet the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3347355/ageing-southeast-asia-fights-fears-death-brave-inevitable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3347355/ageing-southeast-asia-fights-fears-death-brave-inevitable?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Anutin Charnvirakul sailed through a lower house vote on Thursday to become Thailand’s new prime minister, as the conservative establishment emerges on top after years of bitter struggle with pro-democrats. But Anutin’s vow to reset from years of slumping growth and political crisis has been complicated by the US-Israeli war on Iran, which is costing Thailand tens of millions of dollars each day to prop up fuel prices, with ominous queues forming at petrol stations. Addressing lawmakers before... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3347127/pm-anutin-takes-charge-thailand-mideast-chaos-pressures-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3347127/pm-anutin-takes-charge-thailand-mideast-chaos-pressures-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:16:20 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Five years after armoured vehicles rolled through the streets of Myanmar’s capital and the generals tore up an election result they did not like, a new parliament sat for the first time on Monday. The legislature that convened in Naypyidaw was stacked almost entirely with allies of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the coup leader who ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. In Myanmar’s recent election, held across barely a third of the country, the army-backed Union Solidarity... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346724/myanmars-junta-proxy-parliament-meets-first-time-2021-coup?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346724/myanmars-junta-proxy-parliament-meets-first-time-2021-coup?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:51:29 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Hands knotted by a lifetime of hard work, Supon Haochareon says Thai farmers in his position do not get to retire. Instead, the 81-year-old and his wife Lamduan, 74, must tend more than 300 trees in Samut Sakhon, an hour west of Bangkok, agonising each year as prices slump and their coconuts grow smaller in the withering heat. This month brought the lowest prices on record: two baht (six US cents) per coconut – less than a stick of chewing gum – virtually wiping out all profit from their... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346531/inside-coconut-cartel-how-chinese-money-squeezes-thai-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346531/inside-coconut-cartel-how-chinese-money-squeezes-thai-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 02:30:08 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thai police have broken up a web of Chinese companies allegedly using Thai fronts to control the kingdom’s coconut supply, squeezing prices to record lows of 2 baht (6 US cents) per fruit and allowing wide profit margins on sales into China. The probe, launched across western agricultural provinces where the nam hom coconut farms are based, reflects broader concerns about the exploitation of Thai fruit farmers by foreign businessmen who set prices and dictate market terms. Raids on eight... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346192/thailand-smashes-coconut-profiteering-web-led-chinese-firms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3346192/thailand-smashes-coconut-profiteering-web-led-chinese-firms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 06:24:16 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has finalised his coalition partners and tapped allies for cabinet posts, but the spillover from the war in the Middle East is already diluting the economic momentum his new government hopes to take into office. Anutin’s in-tray was already bulging with promises to address domestic woes, including high household debt and a slowdown in growth that has led to an anaemic 2026 forecast of between 1.5 and 2.1 per cent. But the unexpected spike in energy... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346157/iran-war-shock-derails-thailands-economic-reboot-under-pm-anutin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3346157/iran-war-shock-derails-thailands-economic-reboot-under-pm-anutin?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 03:02:48 +0000 Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele A man in a Mercedes drives up to a Bangkok forecourt, cash in hand, ready to buy an electric vehicle he hadn’t planned on owning. Southeast Asia’s EV revolution has found a new accelerant. “He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to fill up his car any more,” said Samart Prakotkancharna, managing director of Ratchapruek P Car Centre in Thailand’s capital, describing the scene that played out on his forecourt. Cash buyers had been streaming in all week, spooked by rising diesel prices and hunting for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345751/iran-war-oil-shock-accelerates-southeast-asias-ev-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3345751/iran-war-oil-shock-accelerates-southeast-asias-ev-revolution?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s state-backed energy giant PTT will freeze pump prices for 15 days as war in the Middle East disrupts oil and gas shipments through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, spurring panic buying and some fuel rationing across parts of the Mekong region. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil and gas, whose flows have been choked since the weekend after the US and Israel attacked Iran. Tehran retaliated by striking tankers and energy facilities across the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3345373/thailands-ptt-freeze-pump-prices-iran-attacks-spur-panic-buying-mekong-area?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3345373/thailands-ptt-freeze-pump-prices-iran-attacks-spur-panic-buying-mekong-area?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 06:43:32 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones With memories still raw from the deaths of scores of its nationals during the Gaza war, Thailand has issued an alert to its estimated 110,000 citizens working across the Middle East as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran rages across the region. Around 60,000 Thais are working in Israel’s fields, factories and shops, drawn by “danger money” wages higher than those available at home or in competing markets. Thai authorities have said an additional 250 Thais are believed to still be in Iran, while... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345108/thailands-workers-israel-hunker-down-iran-strikes-targets-across-gulf?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3345108/thailands-workers-israel-hunker-down-iran-strikes-targets-across-gulf?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 07:16:03 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones If all goes to plan, in under three years the world’s largest stadium will tower over Hanoi’s southern suburbs as a shimmering monument to the good times ahead for Vietnam and, by extension, its leader To Lam, the secret policeman who now holds power. The golden, drum-shaped Trong Dong Stadium, with a capacity of 135,000, is the centrepiece of a proposed US$38 billion new town designed to ease Vietnamese capital’s chronic congestion. Vingroup, the country’s dominant cars-to-minimarts... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344909/lams-blueprint-rising-vietnam-build-fast-grow-rich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344909/lams-blueprint-rising-vietnam-build-fast-grow-rich?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand is eyeing a billion-dollar tourist bounce over the next five years from hosting Tomorrowland, which makes its Asia debut in December 2026. Some 150,000 young ravers are expected to flood the resort city of Pattaya for the world’s largest electronic music festival. Long a touchstone of global tourism, the country has seen its popularity wane in recent years as a strong baht deters some travellers while regional rivals Vietnam and Malaysia eat into its market share. To reverse the trend,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3344827/thailand-eyes-us1-billion-bounce-tomorrowland-music-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3344827/thailand-eyes-us1-billion-bounce-tomorrowland-music-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:22:14 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The deaths of 72 captive tigers at a private park popular with tourists in northern Thailand have renewed scrutiny of a lucrative industry that campaigners warn treats wild animals as “entertainment”. The outbreak at Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai began in early February, with authorities initially attributing the deaths to canine distemper – a virus carried by dogs but often fatal to big cats. A deeper investigation is under way, with some medical experts suspecting contaminated food may have been... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3344470/why-did-72-tigers-die-thailand-tourist-park-under-2-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3344470/why-did-72-tigers-die-thailand-tourist-park-under-2-weeks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:58:22 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Resorts are near capacity in Pattaya, Bangkok restaurants are doing a roaring trade and the strict time slots to visit the Louis Vuitton pop-up “hotel” in the Thai capital are fully booked. As this year’s Lunar New Year holiday draws to a close, Thailand’s tourist businesses are totting up the receipts from what many hope will be an enduring rebound in Chinese visitors. More than 30,000 Chinese visitors have arrived each day since the start of January. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344241/thailand-sees-lunar-new-year-travel-boom-chinese-tourists-back-droves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3344241/thailand-sees-lunar-new-year-travel-boom-chinese-tourists-back-droves?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 07:00:09 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Two weeks after an election that was called to cut through Thailand’s political stalemate, much is still in doubt. The threat of annulment hangs over the entire vote, while the final shape of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s governing coalition is still being formed. The February 8 poll, called by Anutin’s caretaker government to seek a fresh mandate, aimed to halt the revolving door at Government House that saw three prime ministers come and go in just two years. In that time, an economy... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344188/will-thailands-election-be-voided-bar-code-blunder-threatens-tear-results?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344188/will-thailands-election-be-voided-bar-code-blunder-threatens-tear-results?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 03:00:28 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand and Cambodia are battling for narrative control over their border dispute, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet alleging truce violations during a Washington trip – and Bangkok accusing its neighbour of spreading “distorted” information to the international community. The two nations intermittently clashed over demarcation points along their 817km (508-mile) border from last July until December 27, when a second ceasefire was reached. The fighting killed 149 people and displaced... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343975/thailand-and-cambodia-fight-worlds-ear-over-deadly-border-feud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343975/thailand-and-cambodia-fight-worlds-ear-over-deadly-border-feud?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 05:25:15 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Cambodia is scrambling to shore up an economy battered by months of border conflict with Thailand, as shuttered crossings choke trade and hundreds of thousands of migrant workers return home to fewer jobs and lower pay. Prime Minister Hun Manet is travelling to the United States and Europe this week seeking to diversify markets and secure new investment, part of a broader effort to reduce Cambodia’s reliance on Thailand after the fighting forced supply chains to be diverted and slashed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343805/cambodia-seeks-economic-reset-after-thailand-border-war-batters-trade-and-remittances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343805/cambodia-seeks-economic-reset-after-thailand-border-war-batters-trade-and-remittances?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:00:14 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Tributes to a secondary school teacher poured out across Thailand on Thursday after she died from gunshot wounds while defending students from a teen gunman who attacked her school in Hat Yai. The horror unfolded on Wednesday afternoon when the 17-year-old, who was armed with a stolen gun, entered the Patongprathankiriwat School in Songkhla province and took a pupil hostage. Head teacher Sasiphat Sinsamosorn, 54, negotiated the release of the pupil in exchange for herself. During the long... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3343341/thai-teacher-who-died-gun-attack-while-saving-pupil-hailed-selfless?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3343341/thai-teacher-who-died-gun-attack-while-saving-pupil-hailed-selfless?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:48:47 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Allegations of irregularities in Thailand’s election – including vote-buying, uncounted ballots and tallies greater than the names on electoral lists – have gathered momentum, increasing the pressure on polling authorities to hold recounts. Protests across the country have been aimed squarely at the Election Commission (EC). While any potential recounts are unlikely to change the overall result of Sunday’s election, they threaten to slow the formation of a new government. Sunday’s vote saw... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343185/vote-recount-calls-grow-thailand-amid-claims-election-irregularities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343185/vote-recount-calls-grow-thailand-amid-claims-election-irregularities?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 09:30:08 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Nationalism, a deep network of local patronage and a promise to safeguard Thailand’s faltering economy catapulted Anutin Charnvirakul back into the prime minister’s office. By his own admission, the win exceeded expectations. His Bhumjaithai Party secured 193 of the 500 parliamentary seats, according to early unofficial tallies late on Monday – “even more than I asked for”, Anutin told reporters – albeit from what looks likely to be one of Thailand’s lowest voter turnouts in decades. Analysts... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343006/thailand-rejects-radical-change-anutins-right-wing-turn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343006/thailand-rejects-radical-change-anutins-right-wing-turn?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 04:08:15 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s conservative Bhumjaithai Party won Sunday’s election as its stability message cut through with the electorate, while the reformist People’s Party failed to convince voters it had the remedy to years of economic drift and political turbulence. Caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai was forecast to win nearly 200 seats by Channel 3 on the basis of results from the parties. The progressive People’s Party trailed far behind, just above 100 seats, ahead of jailed former... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342794/thailand-votes-reformists-challenge-conservatives-amid-political-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342794/thailand-votes-reformists-challenge-conservatives-amid-political-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 02:10:53 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The tattoo on his arm reads “buc Lao” (Laos boy) but Kham Paneboun is not a Laotian citizen. In fact, he’s not really from anywhere. In February last year, US Homeland Security detained him for a felony committed as a teenager, revoked his work permit and – after decades of legal residence – deported him to Laos, a country he had never set foot in. Kham, 43, was torn from his wife and four children, aged three to 12, who remain in Texas – a family now paying for a “bad mistake” he made in his... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3342712/southeast-asian-refugees-cast-out-trumps-us-face-exile-unknown-lands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3342712/southeast-asian-refugees-cast-out-trumps-us-face-exile-unknown-lands?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 00:00:08 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s rival parties held final rallies late on Friday in a last-ditch push to win over undecided voters among a public craving change but still deeply split over the remedy for years of ulcerous political and economic decline. The People’s Party and Pheu Thai packed out their respective stadium venues in Bangkok on Friday, pumping music to encourage supporters as leaders delivered appeals for every last vote. In contrast, the Bhumjaithai Party’s rally in a convention centre in the capital,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342662/thailand-prepares-vote-can-election-deliver-change-it-needs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3342662/thailand-prepares-vote-can-election-deliver-change-it-needs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 09:05:56 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thai police have arrested two Russians on suspicion of murdering a fellow national after the victim’s dismembered body was found in scrubland near the resort town of Pattaya, a “heinous” crime detectives believe is linked to debts to criminals. Body parts of the 30-year-old victim, Mikhail Emelianov, were found on Sunday scattered across a section of abandoned land just outside the eastern tourist city renowned for its large Russian expatriate community. Police arrested Iaroslav Demidov, 35, and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3342135/thai-police-arrest-2-over-heinous-dismemberment-russian-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3342135/thai-police-arrest-2-over-heinous-dismemberment-russian-man?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2026 12:23:45 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones From the principled and the populist to the outright eccentric, Thailand goes to the polls on February 8 with its main prime ministerial candidates wielding lofty promises to turn the country’s flagging fortunes around. Here are the main contenders and some of their policies. Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut – People’s Party Better known as “Teng”, the former tech executive took over leadership of the People’s Party in 2024 aged just 37. He leads them into the election as the most popular candidate to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3341884/thailand-election-who-are-pm-contenders-vying-lead-nation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3341884/thailand-election-who-are-pm-contenders-vying-lead-nation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Feb 2026 04:00:13 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones It was a policy meant to ignite a golden age of infrastructure development and put Thailand at the heart of Southeast Asia’s trade and investment for decades to come. Three years – and three prime ministers – after it was first proposed, a multibillion-dollar “landbridge” across Thailand’s southern neck to slash transport times between Asia’s main shipping lanes has now hit a dead end, entangled in the kingdom’s intractable political crisis. As Thais prepare to vote on February 8 for yet another... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341880/thailand-election-looms-voters-seek-national-reset-end-decade-decline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341880/thailand-election-looms-voters-seek-national-reset-end-decade-decline?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s slump in visitors from China has become so acute that Chinese tourism workers in Phuket are learning English for the first time to attract new customers, according to a boat tour organiser. Chanchanat Boonlon said her catamaran business was once a cash cow, fully booked each day during high season by large groups of Chinese visitors who flocked to Phuket, Thailand’s largest island. While the Lunar New Year holiday next month brings hopes of a seasonal bounce, data on arrivals from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3341724/thailand-picks-blackpinks-lisa-tourism-ambassador-will-chinese-visitors-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3341724/thailand-picks-blackpinks-lisa-tourism-ambassador-will-chinese-visitors-return?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 02:00:29 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Myanmar’s military proxy party has claimed a predictable victory in an election widely condemned as a sham, a result likely to hardwire the junta into power indefinitely. For millions of disenfranchised citizens like May*, who fled to neighbouring Thailand to escape the crackdown, the landslide win holds no credibility. “None of us voted,” the 38-year-old migrant said. “The military held the election for themselves and they won. But they have all of the power anyway, so what was the point?” On... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3341224/myanmars-junta-backed-party-declares-majority-poll-decried-fraudulent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3341224/myanmars-junta-backed-party-declares-majority-poll-decried-fraudulent?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 06:20:10 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s most popular political figure Pita Limjaroenrat has exhorted the public to fight apathy and vote in droves at a February 8 election for his reformist party, which remains the biggest threat to the power of the country’s entrenched elite. Pita led the reformist People’s Party – then called Move Forward – to win the last election in 2023 on a record 76 per cent voter turnout, stunning the establishment as it gobbled up seats from political dynasties and surged into the heartlands of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3341222/thai-comeback-kid-pita-urges-decisive-peoples-party-win-break-establishments-grip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3341222/thai-comeback-kid-pita-urges-decisive-peoples-party-win-break-establishments-grip?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 05:41:48 +0000 Kolette Lim,Aidan Jones Kolette Lim,Aidan Jones Southeast Asian countries invited to join Donald Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” should think carefully before entering what looks like a “more exclusive version” of the United Nations Security Council with the US president in ultimate control, analysts caution. Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are among about 60 countries that have reportedly received invitations, alongside South Korea and India. The initiative, presented by Trump as a new international body to promote global... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340651/why-southeast-asia-wary-trumps-pay-play-global-peace-board?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340651/why-southeast-asia-wary-trumps-pay-play-global-peace-board?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 06:30:10 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Somewhere on the cavernous loft floor, cooing softly from inside a stack of crates, a feathered fortune waits for its moment to shine. It’s “basketing day” for Asia’s richest pigeon race, held in Pattaya, eastern Thailand. In 24 hours’ time, a US$2 million prize pot will be shared among the lucky owners of the birds that find their way home. For now, those hopes are packed tightly, wing to wing, into crates: more than 5,000 perfectly conditioned racers waiting to be scanned, logged and stamped... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3340203/feathered-fortunes-inside-asias-richest-pigeon-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3340203/feathered-fortunes-inside-asias-richest-pigeon-race?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jan 2026 05:30:10 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s prime minister moved on Thursday to strip contracts from a major construction firm following a crane collapse that killed two people on a highway near Bangkok. The disaster occurred just a day after another crane toppled from an elevated rail line being built by the same company and claimed 32 lives. Facing pressure to respond to public anger over the repeated fatal incidents linked to Italian-Thai Development, a firm awarded state mega-projects across the country, caretaker Prime... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3339966/2-killed-thai-crane-collapse-just-day-after-another-kills-32-train-passengers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3339966/2-killed-thai-crane-collapse-just-day-after-another-kills-32-train-passengers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 05:17:20 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s election season has triggered a dizzying array of cash giveaway offers from parties vying for votes, from a US$2,000 payment for newborns to debt write-offs and US$100 monthly top-ups for the poorest households to combat pay worth US$6,300. But economists warn that in a slowing economy saddled with debt amid political gridlock, such lavish pledges are highly unlikely to revive growth. Many Thais, like 34-year-old Ton, see the handouts as a distraction from the deeper problems... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339715/thailand-election-cash-splash-pledges-aiming-win-votes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3339715/thailand-election-cash-splash-pledges-aiming-win-votes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 08:00:19 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones For any party that wants to change Thailand, bitter experience has shown that winning an election and taking power are two entirely different things. Conservatives hold the keys to government in the kingdom, where politicians, tycoons and generals serving the apex power of the monarchy allow elections, but conjure up coups and other political manoeuvres to take down winners perceived as a threat to their power. But this time could be different, says Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, the leader of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338561/thailand-election-2026-can-orange-wave-break-conservative-grip-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338561/thailand-election-2026-can-orange-wave-break-conservative-grip-power?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 02:30:09 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Campaigning for Thailand’s February 8 general election has begun with a frenetic three-way battle defined by corruption allegations, a tense border conflict with Cambodia and the emergence of a new frontman for the once all-conquering Shinawatra political dynasty. But the caravans of politicians criss-crossing the nation and blitzing social media have so far failed to inspire a public, which has seen its electoral choices repeatedly nullified by courts and coups, as conservatives find ways to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338090/thai-election-border-row-aids-anutin-shinawatra-clan-fights-survival-reformists-chase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338090/thai-election-border-row-aids-anutin-shinawatra-clan-fights-survival-reformists-chase?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 04:30:08 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Myanmar’s junta-held election will not mask the nation’s dire economic condition, experts warn, as civil war drives some of the highest inflation in Asia, power shortages hack at production and the country’s military rulers seek fast cash from the sale of rare earths and kickbacks from drugs and scams. The military has begun a phased election, with voting in some areas taking place on Sunday and further rounds planned in January, a process critics say is designed to project control rather than... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3337994/why-myanmars-junta-election-cannot-hide-collapsing-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3337994/why-myanmars-junta-election-cannot-hide-collapsing-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 07:00:13 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones It was a year defined by war with Cambodia, but also the unravelling of cyber scams around Thailand’s borders, the rise and demise of political dynasties and another period of musical chairs in the prime minister’s office. There was also national mourning with the death of Queen Mother Sirikit, a towering figure over recent Thai history, and the omnipresence of Lalisa Manobal – or Lisa of South Korean girl group Blackpink – who rapped, acted, gyrated and produced content that seized the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337879/thailands-2025-turmoil-border-war-scam-crackdowns-and-pm-musical-chairs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337879/thailands-2025-turmoil-border-war-scam-crackdowns-and-pm-musical-chairs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 05:30:07 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The first day of voting in Myanmar’s three-stage election was held on Sunday, a process decried as a charade with the most popular pro-democracy party banned and up to half the war-torn country unable to vote. In the capital, Naypyidaw, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cast his vote in an election he views as a way to cement the future of the military in a country torn apart by civil war since he seized power after the public rejected army-linked parties in the last poll. “People should vote,” the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337919/myanmar-polls-open-amid-civil-war-junta-seeks-prolong-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337919/myanmar-polls-open-amid-civil-war-junta-seeks-prolong-power?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:10:36 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Taya says her life was looking up as Myanmar crept out from decades of isolation. She had a job in marketing, enough money to shop in Yangon’s new retail plazas and fuel her quiet dreams of opening a small bakery, as her generation enjoyed unprecedented economic and personal freedoms. But that was before Myanmar’s short-lived experiment with greater democracy ended in a coup in 2021. With the military once more in charge, the economy is in free fall, and inflation has surged to well over 20 per... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337820/lost-my-future-myanmars-charade-election-dims-hopes-diaspora?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337820/lost-my-future-myanmars-charade-election-dims-hopes-diaspora?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:00:08 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Economic and political stakes continue to rise from the Thai-Cambodian border conflict as the crucial high season for tourism begins for both countries. Thailand has imposed an overnight curfew in parts of Trat, the southern Thai province abutting Cambodia and a gateway to several popular resort islands. Late on Monday, Thai immigration police also announced extra screening of all air arrivals to prevent foreign “mercenaries” from slipping into the country. Meanwhile, Cambodia alleged the Thai... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336604/thai-cambodian-border-conflict-disrupts-holiday-high-season-tourists-shy-away?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336604/thai-cambodian-border-conflict-disrupts-holiday-high-season-tourists-shy-away?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 07:21:21 +0000 Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Aidan Jones,Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Daniel Ho’s clients want the best money can buy: branded residences and glass-wrapped penthouses complete with panoramic views and high-rise parking spots fit for supercars in the elite enclaves of Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila. A world away, or so it seems, mid-level asset manager Charoen Kijvekin sees a very different reality playing out. His clients are debt-stricken Thais trying to claw back repossessed homes from auction and families on the bottom rung of the property ladder... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3336254/southeast-asias-rich-buy-sky-garages-while-middle-class-lose-their-homes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3336254/southeast-asias-rich-buy-sky-garages-while-middle-class-lose-their-homes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 01:30:14 +0000 Bloomberg,Aidan Jones Bloomberg,Aidan Jones Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved parliament on Friday, setting the stage for an early election after a major political party backing his minority government threatened to withdraw its support. Anutin said in a Facebook post late on Thursday that he would “return power to the people”. Hours later, King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed Anutin’s recommendation to dissolve the 500-member House of Representatives – a formality under the Thai constitution. Under Thai rules, an election... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336125/thai-pm-sets-stage-election-saying-he-will-return-power-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336125/thai-pm-sets-stage-election-saying-he-will-return-power-people?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 17:03:33 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones At least 10 people have been killed as fighting fanned across the long Thai-Cambodian border, officials said on Tuesday, driving tens of thousands of civilians from their homes as both nations ignored a White House warning to end the bloodshed. The latest escalation has shattered a shaky US-steered truce that had largely held since late October, when Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian leader Hun Manet agreed to halt hostilities under a deal witnessed by US President Donald... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335687/fighting-rages-across-thai-cambodian-border-us-calls-calm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335687/fighting-rages-across-thai-cambodian-border-us-calls-calm?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 04:01:03 +0000