Pavin Chachavalpongpun
10 May 2013
China and Thailand have forged even closer ties with the recent exchanges of visits of key policy makers. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his Bangkok trip early this month, extolled Thailand for playing a “significant” role in promoting relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
10 Apr 2013
The crisis on the Korean Peninsula is reaching its peak. North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has threatened to wage an attack on the United States and South Korea using “smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear weapons”. Shuttle diplomacy is now being conducted between key players in an attempt to alleviate the tense situation.
7 Mar 2013
The Bangkok gubernatorial election was held last weekend and ended with a great fanfare. The incumbent governor, Sukhumbhand Paribatra, from the opposition Democrat Party, managed to hold on for another term despite implementing a number of failed policies during the past four years under his leadership.
13 Feb 2013
Japan’s Shinzo Abe administration had decided to raise the defence budget for the first time in 11 years. The government called for spending 4.68 trillion yen (US$52 billion) on defence, an increase of 0.8% from last year, in the new fiscal year which will begin this April.
25 Jan 2013
Japan has embarked on adjusting its foreign policy following the electoral victory of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which brought Shinzo Abe back to the premiership for the second time. After the Cabinet was formed on 26 December, Abe sent his deputy, Taro Aso, a former prime minister now in charge of the finance ministry, to Myanmar.
14 Jan 2013
Optimism is running high in Myanmar. After several decades under the military rule, Myanmar is now undertaking a series of political reforms. And so far, the move has been impressive.
26 Dec 2012
2012 is coming to an end. Soon, we will embrace what the New Year will bring. In foreign affairs, Thailand will, like in previous years, encounter a myriad of opportunities and challenges. This short article will identify key international events and ongoing domestic issues that could make an impact on the Thai foreign policy and the stature of the country on the global stage.
17 Dec 2012
An important agency is rendered toothless by its Quisling chairwoman
Amara Pongsapich, the chairperson of Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission must have felt frustrated to hear that former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had been charged with murder in connection with his role in a military crackdown against pro-Thaksin protesters in 2010.
3 Dec 2011
Singapore-based political scientist Pavin Chachavalpongpun, launched an on-line campaign on Wednesday to free Thailand's latest lese majeste law prisoner 61-year-old Amphon Tangnoppakul, aka Akong, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison last week for allegedly sending four SMS messages defamatory to the Queen and the monarchy to personal secretary of then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The campaign is catching on and Pravit Rojanaphruk asked Pavin through the internet as to why he is doing it and what's his expectation.
8 Aug 2011
Full length interview with Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Fellow and Researcher on Political and Strategic Affairs, ASEAN Studies Centre (ASC), Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore about the Yingluck administration's challenges in restoring Thailand's image and relations with neighbouring countries and the world
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