Leaked call between Thai PM Paetongtarn and Cambodia'sHun Sen worsens tensions
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Leaked call between Thai PM Paetongtarn and Cambodia'sHun Sen worsens tensions
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Straits Times
15 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra faces political collapse after leaked phone call scandal
- Thailand's government teetered on the brink of collapse after a leaked audio recording of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra criticising the country's military provoked the withdrawal of support from a key party in her ruling coalition amid growing calls for her resignation. The exit of the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, which holds 69 seats in the 500-member lower house , leaves the Pheu Thai Party-led government controlling just 261 seats in parliament, as more parties in the coalition held urgent meetings on June 19 to decide whether to join the exodus. Any further defections could tip the Paetongtarn administration into minority government; some political analysts have already written her position off as untenable. Ms Paetongtarn appeared to dig in during a hastily-convened press conference on June 19, where she issued a public apology and urged the Thai people to unite in the face of what she described as a 'threat to national security' after her phone conversation with Cambodian senate president Hun Sen on June 15 surfaced online. In the 17-minute call, which was uploaded to Mr Hun's Facebook page on June 18, Ms Paetongtarn is heard urging the former Cambodian leader to help resolve a renewed outbreak of border tensions between the two South-east Asian nations that she said was proving damaging to her government. Addressing Mr Hun, the father of current Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet, as 'uncle', she appeared to blame the Thai army for inflaming tensions and referred to them as 'the opposite side'. She also urged Mr Hun to ignore comments from a firebrand Thai general whom she said merely wanted to 'appear cool'. She said later that her words were merely part of a 'negotiation tactic'. 'I must apologise for what happened as I really didn't know the conversation was being recorded,' she said at the press conference, flanked by ministers and senior army commanders, adding that the call had been made from her private phone. 'From now on, I'll be more careful with my words.' Ms Paetongtarn said the Thai government had registered a diplomatic protest with Phnom Penh over the leak. 'No one would record such a personal conversation and release it like this. It is unacceptable,' she said. While the situation remains fluid, political analysts said the scandal had shaken political trust and soured public sentiment toward an already unpopular leader to such an extent she was unlikely to survive as prime minister. 'It is the PM's grave mistake to ignore the protocol by having a private phone call with Hun Sen on an unsecured line,' said Dr Panitan Wattanayagorn, a political scientist and former government adviser. There were no good options remaining for Ms Paetongtarn, Dr Panitan said. She could either step down to make way for another candidate to take over, or run the gauntlet of an early election by dissolving parliament, he said. Coming just 10 months into her term, the potential for a fresh wave of political turmoil and leadership changes comes at an inopportune time, with Thailand battling to revive its stagnant economy while staving off the threat of US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs. Ms Paetongtarn, the 38-year-old daughter of influential billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had not held any political office before becoming Thailand's youngest prime minister in August 2024 after the removal of her predecessor by a court order. She assumed power at the head of an uneasy post-election coalition with a clutch of pro-military parties, part of the conservative establishment whose distrust and rivalry with Mr Thaksin's political movement has dominated Thailand's political landscape for much of the past two decades. The fragile alliance had been under growing strain due to mounting legal pressure on Mr Thaksin following his return from 15 years in self-imposed exile as well as factional infighting. The latter erupted into public view after an attempt by Pheu Thai to strip Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul of the interior minister position in a cabinet reshuffle. Ms Paetongtarn's popularity had already been tested by pressure over her management of Thailand's lacklustre economy, a resurgent opposition as well as long-held perceptions of the political influence her father, who has no official title but remains outspoken on policy matters, wields over her. Pro-military voices had also seized on what they considered to be her overly gentle diplomatic approach to the territorial spat after a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief exchange of gunfire at a disputed border area between the two countries on May 28, fanning nationalist sentiments on both sides. Cambodia said on June 15 that it had formally submitted a request for the International Court of Justice to resolve its territorial row with Thailand after bilateral talks were inconclusive. 'This is by far the biggest crisis that Paetongtarn's administration has faced,' said Dr Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, Director of the Law Centre at Thammasat University. 'The Pheu Thai Party might still have had a chance to retain the stability of the government even after the Bhumjaithai Party left the coalition. But after the leaking of the prime minister's conversation with Hun Sen, the situation is greatly worsened.' Thailand's armed forces have long played a prominent role in the country's politics, with the kingdom experiencing a dozen military coups since the 1930s, including toppling the governments of both Mr Thaksin and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2006 and 2014 respectively. The centre-left main opposition People's Party said Ms Paetongtarn had 'completely lost' the confidence of the people by portraying the Thai army as the enemy. Opposition leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut called on her to dissolve parliament to take responsibility for the damage caused and stave off any potential repeat of a military coup. 'While current public sentiment may lead to the setting up of pressure groups to gather in front of Government House or other places, people should be reminded that a military coup is not the answer,' he said on June 19. 'We must not let emotions push society beyond the bounds of democracy.' Additional reporting by Pratch Rujivanarom Philip Wen is regional correspondent at The Straits Times, covering South-east Asia from his base in Bangkok. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
39 minutes ago
- Business Times
Thailand PM apologises as crisis threatens to topple government
[BANGKOK] Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra apologised on Thursday (Jun 19) for a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that has provoked widespread anger and put her government on the brink of collapse. Her main coalition partner has quit and she faces calls to resign or hold an election, throwing the kingdom into a fresh round of political instability as it seeks to boost its spluttering economy and avoid US President Donald Trump's swingeing trade tariffs. The conservative Bhumjaithai party pulled out on Wednesday, saying Paetongtarn's conduct in the leaked call had wounded the country and the army's dignity. As pressure grew on Thursday, Paetongtarn apologised at a news conference alongside military chiefs and senior figures from her Pheu Thai party. 'I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment,' Paetongtarn told reporters. The 38-year-old is the daughter of billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's most influential but controversial modern politician. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Paetongtarn is heard in the call discussing an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who still holds wide powers in Cambodia despite leaving office in 2023. She addresses the veteran leader as 'uncle' and refers to the Thai army commander in the country's northeast as her opponent, a remark that sparked fierce criticism on social media. The Thai foreign ministry summoned the Cambodian ambassador on Thursday to deliver a letter complaining about the leaking of the call. The loss of Bhumjaithai's 69 MPs left Paetongtarn with barely enough votes to scrape a majority in parliament and a snap election looks a clear possibility – barely two years after the last one in May 2023. Two other coalition parties, the United Thai Nation and the Democrat Party, will hold meetings to discuss the situation later Thursday. Paetongtarn will be hoping her apology and public show of unity with the military are enough to persuade them to stay on board. Losing either would likely mean the end of her government and either an election or a bid by other parties to stitch together a new coalition. Resignation calls Thailand's military said in a statement that army chief General Pana Claewplodtook 'affirms commitment to democratic principles and national sovereignty protection'. 'The Chief of Army emphasised that the paramount imperative is for 'Thai people to stand united' in collectively defending national sovereignty,' it said. Thailand's armed forces have long played a powerful role in the kingdom's politics and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise them. Thailand has suffered a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and the current crisis has inevitably triggered rumours that another may be in the offing. Such an outcome would make Paetongtarn the third member of her family, after her aunt Yingluck and father Thaksin, to be kicked out of office by the military. The main opposition People's Party, which won the most seats in 2023 but was blocked by conservative senators from forming a government, urged Paetongtarn to call an election. 'What happened yesterday was a leadership crisis that destroyed people's trust,' People's Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said in a statement. The Palang Pracharath party, which led the government up to 2023, said the leaked recording showed Paetongtarn was weak and inexperienced, incapable of managing the country's security. Hundreds of anti-government protesters, some of them veterans of the royalist, anti-Thaksin 'Yellow Shirt' movement of the late 2000s, demonstrated outside government House on Thursday demanding that Paetongtarn quit. Awkward coalition Paetongtarn came to power in August 2024 at the head of an uneasy coalition between Pheu Thai and a group of conservative, pro-military parties whose members have spent much of the past 20 years battling against her father. Growing tensions within the coalition erupted into open warfare in the past week as Pheu Thai tried to take the interior minister's job away from Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul. The battle between the conservative pro-royal establishment and Thaksin's political movement has dominated recent Thai politics. Former Manchester City owner Thaksin, 75, still enjoys huge support from the rural base whose lives he transformed with populist policies in the early 2000s. But he is despised by Thailand's powerful elites, who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and socially destabilising. AFP
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Thailand summons Cambodia envoy over crisis-causing audio leak
Royalist activists take part in an anti-government protest near the Government House, in Bangkok, Thailand, following the leaked call. PHOTO: REUTERS Bangkok - Thailand summoned the Cambodian ambassador on June 19 to deliver a missive saying it was 'deeply disappointed' about the leak of a diplomatic phone call which has sparked a political crisis in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has lost the backing of a key coalition partner who accused her of being deferential and denigrating her nation's army in a call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. In the call, Ms Paetongtarn discusses an ongoing border dispute with the Cambodian statesman, referring to him as 'uncle' and describing a Thai army commander overseeing the border region as her opponent. Without the backing of her largest partner Ms Paetongtarn is left with only a slim parliamentary majority, while the other parties which voted her into office are due to hold emergency summits later on June 19. Thai foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told reporters the Cambodian ambassador was summoned around 11am and handed a 'protest letter' over the leaked call on June 15. 'This action taken by the Cambodian side is totally unacceptable. It breaches diplomatic etiquette, is a serious violation of trust and undermines relations between the neighbouring countries,' he said. The letter read: 'The Royal Thai Government is deeply disappointed that the private telephone conversation between the Thai Prime Minister and the senior figure from Cambodia was leaked.' Mr Hun Sen – who still wields considerable influence and whose son Hun Manet is Cambodia's current leader – has said the audio was recorded 'for the sake of transparency' and it was possibly leaked by someone who 'disapproved of the Thai Prime Minister'. An area known as the Emerald Triangle – where the borders of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet – has long been disputed by Phnom Penh and Bangkok. The row boiled over on May 28 when troops exchanged fire and one Cambodian soldier was killed. Ms Paetongtarn on June 19 apologised for the leaked audio in a press conference where she appeared flanked by high-ranking military officials. Thailand's military has staged a dozen coups over the past century and the military remain immensely powerful while most politicians avoid antagonising them. 'My intention was to help stabilise the situation and I never expected the conversation to be leaked,' she said. 'Moving forward, I will be more cautious with my negotiating approach.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
