Thailand

The global economic crisis has prompted the creation of an Asia crisis fund, designed to bulk up and eventually supplant the Chiang Mai Initiative. [more]

The border dispute between Thai and Cambodian forces is flaring up again, to the benefit of both governments. [more]

Opposition protests in the Thai capital turned violent Oct. 7, and the situation is getting worse. [more]

With the exception of rice, global food prices seem to be in recovery as plentiful harvests bear fruit globally. Investors remain cautious, however, as government restrictions and unpredictable weather remain of concern. [more]

Thailand's Constitutional Court has disqualified Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej from serving in the current government. [more]

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will see much activity regarding bilateral trade agreements by December. [more]

Opposition groups’ attempts to bring down the government of Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, ongoing for months, appeared to come to a head with the highly public invasion of TV stations and government buildings in Bangkok. But there are strong indications that Samak has the upper hand, and the opposition PAD may have attempted a bridge too far. [more]

The Thai government is engineering a situation to justify a crackdown on the opposition. [more]

The following are internal Stratfor documents produced to provide high-level guidance to our analysts. These documents are not forecasts, but rather a series of guidelines for understanding and evaluating events, as well as suggestions on areas for focus. [more]

With oil prices down to around $125 per barrel, Malaysia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries are reconsidering the policies implemented because of high energy costs. [more]

A three-month program to help Thai rice growers get the profits due them from high global food prices has hidden political benefits — and some unexpected side effects — for the fragile coalition government in Bangkok. [more]

Bangkok has introduced a scheme to buy rice from farmers. [more]

Thailand's latest spate of political turmoil eased up May 30. Bangkok's internal stability has not been truly threatened by recent street protests and rumors of a coup. Politics in Bangkok is simply returning to business as usual. [more]

A handful of small and medium-sized East Asian states have been moving to prop up their currencies against the dollar. The move signals their worries about untenable inflation rates and could point toward trouble down the line for larger manufacturing economies, such as China. Analyst Donna Kwok discusses. [more]

The central banks of several East Asian countries employed currency manipulation strategies to help offset the economic effects of rising commodity prices. Their move may or may not influence how the region’s most important player, China, will or will not react. [more]

Thai special operations troops are pulling out of Thailand's mostly Muslim southern provinces, signaling a shift in tactics from "search and destroy" to "hearts and minds." [more]

Despite the Thai prime minister's assertion that a rice cartel may soon take off, the plan is unlikely to function as planned. [more]

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's controversial anti-drug campaign is slated to be revived April 2. [more]

Thailand's military announced that it plans to construct three bases and training camps in the restive southern provinces. (With Stratfor map) [more]

Myanmar's increasingly confident military regime has barred imprisoned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in the proposed 2010 elections. [more]