Prime Minister Yingluck will have plenty on her plate in the coming weeks. But she needs to reserve some energy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Thailand has been more of a liability than an asset for ASEAN in recent years. Its internal ructions have disrupted high-level meetings. It lost a lot of the democratic credibility that once made it a liberal fore-runner in the organization. And its dispute with Cambodia over disputed temples and territories has been little short of catastrophic for the region. ASEAN always suffers from a surfeit of (often very unfair) criticism. But even its harshest critics generally concede that membership seems to stop states resorting to war. Hostilities, deaths, and civilian displacement were therefore a very, very bad look, fanning the flames of scepticism, shaking investor confidence in the region, and embarrassing current ASEAN chair, Indonesia.
ASEAN, and its Thai secretary-general, will be fervently hoping Thailand can turn things round.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are really welcome, but will be moderated before being displayed.