Latest news with #ThitinanPongsudhirak
Nikkei Asia
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
Thailand faces heavier challenges under Trump tariffs
Thitinan Pongsudhirak is professor at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Science and a senior fellow at its Institute of Security and International Studies in Bangkok. Thailand is in deeper water compared with its peers in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs announced on April 2. Several policy missteps from an ill-advised deportation of Uyghurs to China and the reception of Myanmar's junta chief to the controversial arrest of an American academic have undermined Thailand-U.S. relations at a time when Bangkok needs to navigate and negotiate a tariff deal in Washington.
South China Morning Post
17-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Can Southeast Asia be part of a new world order amid US-China tug of war?
Southeast Asia can be part of a new international order if China plays its cards right amid a 'free fall in geopolitics' sparked by mounting uncertainty over the United States' regional role. Panel speakers at the 'China Conference: Southeast Asia' in Kuala Lumpur on Monday gave an overview of changing power dynamics and how this would affect the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The experts noted how Asean members had been in limbo in recent weeks as they waited to see how far US President Donald Trump would go with his promise to widen tariffs, which he said would not only affect China but also other nations – especially those with large trade surpluses with America. But the tides appear to be shifting in Trump's second act in the White House. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of international relations and senior fellow with the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, at the 'China Conference: Southeast Asia' forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday. Photo: Nora Tam Asean has until recently had clear lines of engagement with China as the bloc's largest trading partner and with the US as a security bulwark for the region, according to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of international relations and senior fellow with the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University. Trump's focus on tariffs and US economic nationalism, however, raised concerns that the world's largest economy might no longer be interested in maintaining its presence in Southeast Asia, he warned.
South China Morning Post
29-01-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia's Anwar urges Asean not to ‘single out' Beijing over South China Sea
Published: 8:00am, 29 Jan 2025 Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, Anwar said that boundary disputes will always exist in Asia, noting that despite Malaysia's border issues with Singapore and other Southeast Asian neighbours, the country has maintained strong relationships. Despite facing maritime issues with China , Anwar emphasised the importance of improving ties, stating that, despite these disputes, Malaysia does not 'go to war' or 'threaten'. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science and international relations professor at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand , said Anwar is downplaying the China challenge in Southeast Asia to better 'navigate choppy geopolitical waters' amid Trump's second presidential term. However, China's actions in Southeast Asia are fundamentally different from its past border disputes with neighbours like Vietnam , Pongsudhirak said. Asean member states appear intent to stand down on China until they see how the Trump 2.0 administration will deal with Beijing Thitinan Pongsudhirak, international relations expert 'Beijing is now in contention with regional neighbours over the entire South China Sea,' he said, adding that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is also 'treading softly', even recently joining the China-driven Brics group as a full member.
South China Morning Post
28-01-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia's Anwar urges Asean not to ‘single out' Beijing over South China Sea tensions at Davos
Advertisement Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Wednesday, Anwar said that boundary disputes will always exist in Asia, noting that despite Malaysia's border issues with Singapore and other Southeast Asian neighbours, the country has maintained strong relationships. Despite facing maritime issues with China , Anwar emphasised the importance of improving ties, stating that, despite these disputes, Malaysia does not 'go to war' or 'threaten'. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science and international relations professor at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand , said Anwar is downplaying the China challenge in Southeast Asia to better 'navigate choppy geopolitical waters' amid Trump's second presidential term. However, China's actions in Southeast Asia are fundamentally different from its past border disputes with neighbours like Vietnam , Pongsudhirak said. Asean member states appear intent to stand down on China until they see how the Trump 2.0 administration will deal with Beijing Thitinan Pongsudhirak, international relations expert
