Pavin Chachavalpongpun
2 Dec 2014
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and some ASEAN leaders
14 Nov 2014
This week, I spent my time in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, attending a week-long conference under the Asian Public Intellectual project. The conference brought together 25 Asian Public intellectuals from various fields to present their research, to discuss common concerns in the region, and to exchange views on topics that affect the livelihood of their communities.
30 Oct 2014
Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha will pay an official visit to Cambodia today for a two-day trip to strengthen bilateral ties. He is scheduled to meet with his counterpart, Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, and to have an audience with King Sihamoni, who, on 14 October, celebrated his 10th anniversary of enthronement. Prayuth’s visit is highly significant in many ways, both for his own domestic purposes and for Thailand’s fragile relations with Cambodia.
14 Oct 2014
Kristie Kenney, US Ambassador to Bangkok, gave a farewell to Thailand and is on her way back to Washington DC. She was in this position for much longer than the normal term of 3 years, raising a question if there might be problems within the US internal politics. But Thailand is not the only country where the US diplomatic mission will be without its ambassador. The vacancy in such an important position could be detrimental to the US foreign policy at this critical time in international politics.
18 Sep 2014
Rewriting a history in an intricate business. Nations thrive on extraordinary history. It must be replete with heroism, sacrifices, courage and patriotism. History is employed to reaffirm the longevity of a nation. The longer the life of a nation is, a deeper sense of national belonging it becomes. Given this importance, history is a powerful tool in instigating nationalism. To make a perfect nation, a perfect history is necessary. In the world of nationhood, history tells stories of miracles, achievements and memorable occurrences.
14 Aug 2014
Myanmar last week played host to the gatherings of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as chair of the organization this year. So far, Myanmar has received mixed reviews from the international community on its performance of the chairmanship. Some criticized Myanmar for failing to seriously address the issue of South China Sea. Some congratulated Myanmar for its own political reforms that also saw a rapprochement between Nay Pyi Taw and Washington.
30 Jul 2014
Professor Charnvit Kasetsiri (Left) and Professor Tham Chaloemtiarana (Right)
10 Jul 2014
The junta reportedly instructed the Thai Foreign Ministry to revoke the Thai passport of Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an anti-coup well-known Thai scholar, who is now teaching at Kyoto University, Japan.
The cancellation of Pavin's passport is due to his failure to report himself to the junta's 's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) after he was ordered to summon twice. The authorities later issued an arrest warrant against him on 13 June.
24 Jun 2014
China’s tactic has been cautious and very diplomatic. Thailand and China established its diplomatic ties in 1975. Throughout the latter half of the Cold War, Thailand and China formed a loose military alignment against the advancement of Vietnamese communists in Indochina. After the end of the Cold War, bilateral relations have remained healthy thanks to the absence of territorial disputes, the firm ties between the Thai royal family and the Chinese leadership, and the well-integrated Chinese community in Thailand.
22 Jun 2014
Noam Chomsky, a respected linguist and critic of US foreign policy, on Sunday emailed Pavin Chachavalpongun to give moral support after the latter reportedly became a target of the Thai junta for his comments on the Thai coup, according to Pavin.
In the email, Chomsky expresses concerns over Pavin’s safety.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn about the threats against Professor Pavin Chachavalpongun.
20 Jun 2014
The recent cosy-up between the Thai junta and the Chinese leadership has reflected the shift of the regional order. China is certainly on the rise. Thailand, even under civilian regimes, has been willing to bend backwards to please China. With the Americans coming out to criticise the coup, the military leaders have then switched their alliance to Beijing, at least for the time being.
3 Jun 2014
A group of Thai and foreign students from various universities in Japan, approximately 20 students, on Tuesday organised a symbolic protest against the recent military coup, the military’s assumption of power in an illegitimate means, the curbing of freedom of expression, particularly among academics and media, as well as the continued arrests and detentions of critics of the coup, some of whom are university students.
The protesters wore masks representing those who are behind the political movements against the coup, politicians, academics, po
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