Thailand Voice

Another contribution to the current Mekong debate from Sacravatoons . Read full story >>>

The government may reduce subsidies for sugar and cane farmers later this year in a bid to curb public spending , Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says. The study showed that subsidising the sugar industry had resulted in significant costs to the public purse. The study also examined the impact of subsidising products such as rice, … Read full story >>>

François Molle, Tira Foran and Mira Käkönen, eds., Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region: Hydropower, Livelihoods, and Governance. London and Sterling, Virginia: Earthscan, 2009. Pp. xxii, 426; figs. and maps, bibs. by chapter, index. Two important books on water resources in Asia appeared in 2009. The first is Tushaar Shah, Taming … Read full story >>>

Anasuya Sanyal in Channel News Asia: Federico Ferrara, assistant professor, Political Science Department, National University of Singapore said: “The dilemma is this – if they take away of his [Thaksin Shinawatra's] money, they are vulnerable charges of double standards and they are likely to give rise to some kind of a backlash.”On the other hand, … Read full story >>>

Those who pay attention to mainland Southeast Asia’s nexus of environmental, political and strategic issues will find this discussion of the Mekong helpful.  Milton Osborne is, of course, one of the most astute, experienced and historically-aware analysts of regional affairs… Read full story >>>

The Mekong River separates Thailand from Laos in the north eastern region of the country and Phon Phisai (โพนพิสัย ) is a small town nestled on the riverbank of the famous stretch of water. It’s a place I have visited many … Read full story >>>

UPDATE by BP and bumped to 10am: Talk so far – from Chavalit’s close aide on the record it should be added, has been of Chavalit becoming “chairman” of Puea Thai, in essence, replacing Chalerm (see this tidbit in this post on Chalerm vs Chavalit). One assumes he will not be the party leader at … Read full story >>>

We rarely post job advertisements on New Mandala but given the very specific nature of this position, and our niche in mainland Southeast Asian Studies, I thought it best to make an exception.  I expect that for the right candidate this would be an … Read full story >>>

Titles are here there and everywhere… What’s in a title? That which we call a Ms. by any other title would smell as sweet. Apologies to Shakespeare. I read an interesting Thai law the other day on the topic of titles for women. As you may know, the basic titles for women in Thailand … Read full story >>>

At The Sydney Morning Herald Mic Looby , who co-authored the 2001 Lonely Planet guide to Burma, has weighed into the ongoing debate about Burma sanctions.  It is well worth reading in full .  One of the key paragraphs launches a… Read full story >>>

Ok, not quite as fun as “Where’s Wally?”, but still it is bizarre. The Nation : Abhisit was evasive yesterday when asked about Niphon’s departure. Niphon was absent from work and Abhisit said he had learned his secretary-general “was not feeling well”. In response to whether… Read full story >>>

Two are dead and twelve missing (presumed dead) due to a landslide caused by monsoonal weather at the Xiaowan dam on the Mekong in Yunnan. Thanks to a reader for passing this on. Read full story >>>

As the above picture suggests, staying on the Mekong in Nakhon Phanom was absolutely beautiful and very relaxing. The first few days of my stay in April were sunny but not real hot with a great breeze flowing off the Mekong to the balcony. Then it got humid and the bugs … Read full story >>>

As I mentioned in an earlier post I was lucky enough to spend the Thai New Year, known as Songkran, in 4 different provinces. I spent the first day of Songkran in Pattaya on soi Diana playing with all the bar girls and the subsequent days I spent in Mukdahan, That Phanom and … Read full story >>>