Author: Chalong Tantasatityanon

Pita Limjaroenrat is not your typical Thai politician. In a country where the average age of cabinet ministers is 65, where unquestioning deference to elders is still a cherished tradition, his youth – he looks far younger than his 42 years – and unabashed confidence make him stand out. That he is, after a shock election result which put his reformist Move Forward party ahead of all the others, poised to become the youngest prime minister in 78 years, has stunned the conservative political establishment which has dominated Thailand for much of the modern era. Difficult negotiations are now under…

Vietnam’s imports of crude oil, coal and gas in the first five months of 2023 rose strongly from a year earlier, despite a plunge in overall imports, official data showed on Monday. Imports of crude oil in the January-May period rose 39.9% from a year earlier to 4.66 million tonnes, while coal imports increased 27.9% to 15.56 million tonnes, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a report. Those contrast a 17.9% fall in Vietnam’s overall imports in the period. Most of coal imports were for power plants. Coal is set to remain a crucial source of energy for Vietnam,…

BANGKOK — Thailand’s current soaring heat will continue until the end of summer, experts say. Scorching temperatures, which have felt like more than 50 degrees Celsius mixed with the humidity, have forced local authorities to warn people not to go outside over the weekend. The Thai Meteorological Department had warned about rising temperatures across the country. Saturday’s highest heat index – which measures what the temperature feels like due to humidity – had forecast nearly 54° C in the eastern province of Chonburi and on the resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand. Bangkok has regularly seen temperatures of about 37°…

Chinese car manufacturer Changan Automobile has selected Thailand as the location for its first right-hand drive electric vehicle (EV) production facility outside of China. Changan will invest 9.8bn baht ($285m) to build the facility, which will have an initial production capacity of 100,000 vehicles. The vehicles will be sold in the Thai market and exported to other countries in south and east Asia, and to the Australian, New Zealand, UK and South African markets. The factory will produce battery EVs, plug-in hybrid EVs, range-extended EVs and the batteries required for these vehicles. The investment is part of a push by…

Vietnam has enjoyed a wave of investment from China since its northern neighbor ended its zero-COVID policy late last year. Chinese companies invested in 45 new projects in the first 50 days of 2023, Vietnamese government data showed. Major foreign companies including Samsung, Canon, and Hon Hai, the maker of Apple iPhones, already had factories in Vietnam. But supplies for many still largely came from China. Industry experts say the new investors are mostly smaller suppliers to larger companies that were already established in Vietnam. The move is related to the rising cost of labor in China, in addition to…

As the likelihood of a conflict between the United States and China grows over Taiwan, some Pentagon officials have now warned that if China invaded Taiwan, “war could very well kick off in outer space.” According to multiple Pentagon sources quoted by American television journalist Norah O’Donnell in a recent CBS broadcast aired on March 19, hostilities could also start in outer space if China attacks Taiwan. The officials made this prediction in a “60 Minutes” episode on Taiwan about the status of the US Navy amid China’s military buildup. The officials noted that Washington and Beijing will aim to destroy each…

Myanmar targets to expand the sunflower plantations up to 4 million acres across the country to cover domestic oil consumption, Ye Tint Tun, Director General of the Department of Agriculture, told the media . Sunflower oil is one of the major cooking oil in the domestic market. Major cooking oil come from groundnuts, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds in Myanmar. Though the department targeted to plant 1.5 million acres of sunflower plantations, only 1.08 million acres were planted in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, according to the official. “We already planted 1.08 million acres of sunflowers trees across the country last…

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) appreciates the move by the National Police to travel around Asean to build police-to-police cooperation to hunt down fugitives in corruption cases. KPK Enforcement and Institutional Spokesperson Ali Fikri said the steps taken by the National Police were a form of support for the Corruption Eradication Commission which is still hunting for 4 corruption suspects. “I think it’s good as support for conducting a search for the KPK’s DPO (wanted list of persons),” said Ali in his statement, Thursday (9/2/2023). Ali said that hunting for DPOs required cooperation abroad. This is because…

The Myanmar Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations has banned nominal directors and nominal shareholders of foreign companies in the country. The Military Council issued the directive on 17 January which says that in the place of nominal directors of the foreign companies, directors living in the country must be appointed. This directive says that the Military Council’s Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration will not allow nominal directors of foreign companies and also the persons in these companies will not be allowed as nominal shareholders. Domestic companies are not used to appointing nominal directors in the country but…

The United States is in talks with the Thai government, a close ally, about allowing Myanmar refugees stuck in Thailand to leave for the U.S. In an interview Thursday with VOA, State Department Counselor Derek Chollet said, “Thailand for many years has been a very close partner of ours on refugee issues. It’s something we are constantly talking with them about. During my visits to Thailand over the last year, it’s been top of mind.” During his trip to Thailand and the border region last year, he added, “It’s a constant conversation we’re having … and I can say they’re…