By Ernie Bower We are waking up in a Washington, DC that has seriously eroded its standing in Asia with the cancellation of the president’s trip and may be about to test global financial markets by playing Russian roulette with a debt…
Who is he? General Nipat Thonglek is the new permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Thailand. He was previously deputy defense permanent secretary from October 2012 to September 2013. Nipat has held various military posts, including director of…
Southeast Asia’s rapid economic growth has led to increasing demands for both conventional and alternative energy sources. The region is a net oil importer, representing over 5 percent of global oil demand—a trend expected to accelerate in the coming years.…
Who is he? Vijavat Isarabhakdi served as deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, where he was in charge of the political affairs portfolio. Prior to his position in the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Vijavat…
By Phuong Nguyen & Brittany Billingsley In recent years, the eastern Indian Ocean corridor has become a theater of geostrategic importance. Myanmar and Thailand sit atop the western entrance to the vital Straits of Malacca, looking out on the strategic…
By Michael Vatikiotis This is an edited version of a speech delivered in public at the Thai Government-sponsored ‘Uniting for the Future Special lecture series‘ on September 2, 2013. The entire speech was broadcast nationally and published in the Bangkok…
By Noelan Arbis Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is pushing forward a reconciliation forum on September 2 in an effort to address the political divisiveness in Thailand in recent years. The government has invited key figures from the ruling Pheu Thai…
By Amy Killian The countries of mainland Southeast Asia—Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam—are geographically interconnected and bound to each other by a set of cross-border issues. But the Lao government’s decision in July to proceed with the Don Sahong…
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a major driver of economic growth in many countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN’s six largest economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – have become increasingly attractive…
Transparency International on July 9 released its 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, which measures citizen’s perceptions of corruption and experiences with bribery in 107 countries. Respondents from six ASEAN countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—participated in the survey. Many…
