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The situation on the Myanmar side of the border is a test for Thailand's humanitarian efforts. During the past two months, security forces have had to deal with an influx of about 3,000 ethnic villagers crossing into Thai soil to flee from a crackdown by Myanmar's military, known as Tatmadaw. Despite negative reports accusing the military of pushing them back, the government has provided them with shelter.
Re: "Opposition makes fresh attempt to oust Thamanat", (BP, May 13).
PostScript recently discussed how the month of May is looked upon fondly in Britain, partly because it heralds warmer weather. Admittedly summer in the UK can be rather brief, especially if the occluded fronts start misbehaving. It's no coincidence that the most common forecast in the British summer is "outlook changeable".
The situation on the Myanmar side of the border is a test for Thailand's humanitarian efforts. During the past two months, security forces have had to deal with an influx of about 3,000 ethnic villagers crossing into Thai soil to flee from a crackdown by Myanmar's military, known as Tatmadaw. Despite negative reports accusing the military of pushing them back, the government has provided them with shelter.
PostScript recently discussed how the month of May is looked upon fondly in Britain, partly because it heralds warmer weather. Admittedly summer in the UK can be rather brief, especially if the occluded fronts start misbehaving. It's no coincidence that the most common forecast in the British summer is "outlook changeable".
The explosive spread of Covid-19 in Bangkok's prisons came to light only a few days ago. It was the latest indication of what has gone wrong with the government's latest handlings of the pandemic.
The Covid-19 pandemic presents great challenges for policy makers who are trying to come up with policies to help people adjust to the "new normal". As the Thai government races against time to roll out its Covid vaccinations and provide financial packages to reduce the blow to the economy, one issue that continues to be ignored is the development of our children.
The Asean special summit on Myanmar's crisis in Jakarta on April 24 led to a five-point consensus that has received considerable international attention. But another important paragraph in the summit statement has largely been overlooked.
Normally, I would be upset at being banned from entering the fresh market in my community.
As vaccine diplomacy thrives and vaccine nationalism rears its head, it has become clear that the ideal global solution to the collective action problem of the coronavirus pandemic is for all countries to put their eggs in the same basket. If all countries are forced to rely on the global vaccine alliances' and the World Health Organization's Covid-19 Global Vaccines Access (Covax) plan, whereby any vaccine for one means an available antidote for all, the post-pandemic recovery would arrive faster and smoother with more promising prospects. But short of the ideal solution, the global health system is largely based on self-help, each country mapping its own plan for recovery with a mix of procurement strategies.
Just weeks after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) revealed to the world its "breakthrough" on the Myanmar crisis at a special summit in Jakarta on April 24, the grouping is more or less back to square one.
The disastrous consequences of the Covid pandemic in India are a cause for concern not only for the subcontinent but for the entire world. The way the pandemic has wreaked havoc offers lessons for other countries. Noteworthy is that India's neighbours such as Nepal and Southeast Asian countries ranging from Laos to Myanmar and Thailand are reporting significant surges in infections.
'Objective allies' generally don't even talk to each other. They don't have common values, their ultimate goals may be completely incompatible, they often hate each other. But they share some intermediate goal, and are clever enough to realise they can both get what they want by acting together in certain ways.
