Thailand towards ASEAN ‘15

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) of 2015 draws nearer, allowing free trade among the ten member states. Based on the political, economic and social state of Thailand’s current situation, change is needed in several aspects to truly be prepared and to benefit from this singular economic identity.

Thailand is historically known as a politically instable country, with over 20 coups since 1932 and with the most recent military coup in 2006, the Thaksin Shinawatra government was overthrown by the military. At this moment his younger sister Yingluck is leading the country and in pursuit of reconciliation. Through proposals in order to change the “undemocratic” constitution set up by the military in 2007. In addition, populist policies the government did not manage to create an end to the political unrest, especially since the amendments are believed to try and grant amnesty to Thaksin Shinawatra. In addition, the government limits freedom of speech in some cases, for example, through the lèse majesté law, which allows no critique towards the royal family, even if this is someone’s personal opinion. Read the rest of this entry »

Smart Growth – Clean up now grow later!

In addition to Asia’s economic growth, Asia is also rapidly becoming a major contributor of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is contradicting situation because many of the Asian countries are the ones that are highly vulnerable to these impacts of climate change. There has been a growing awareness of the limited time the world has to avoid climate change. Therefore, to ensure a sustainable future, developing Asia should make sure they do not “grow dirty and clean up later”. Read the rest of this entry »