Thai PM Faces Crisis After Leaked Call
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra is facing mounting pressure to resign after a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen triggered a political crisis and fractured her ruling coalition. The Bhumjaithai Party, her largest coalition partner, withdrew in protest over the call, which revealed Paetongtarn urging Hun Sen to seek a peaceful resolution to a deadly border dispute and appearing to criticize a senior Thai military commander. The fallout has left her government with a precarious majority and sparked protests in Bangkok demanding her resignation.
The leak has reignited nationalist sentiment, with critics accusing Paetongtarn of undermining Thailand’s sovereignty and military. Opposition parties and some senators have called for new elections, while Paetongtarn apologized publicly and characterized her remarks as a negotiation tactic. The crisis threatens to end her tenure just ten months after taking office and raises fears of further political instability in Thailand, a country with a history of military coups and turbulent civilian governments.
Source: The New York Times
Ethno-Geopolitical Perspective
- What are the implications for ASEAN’s credibility and unity when two member states escalate a dispute?
- How could the political crisis in Thailand, triggered by the leaked call, alter the balance of power within the country and affect its relationships with neighboring states?
- How do colonial-era border maps continue to fuel nationalist sentiment and diplomatic conflict between Cambodia and Thailand today?
