China's navy quietly sailed into the shallow, energy-rich Gulf of Thailand earlier this month for Blue Strike 2023, a joint naval exercise to increase Beijing's influence with Thailand's newly elected, military-backed civilian government, which is also a strategic U.S. treaty ally.
While visiting Bangkok in 2003, then-President George W. Bush designated Thailand a "non-NATO treaty ally" and congratulated Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular civilian prime minister in a country long led by military-dominated governments.
Thailand's hopes to return to civilian democratic control after nearly a decade of military-dominated rule suffered a major setback Wednesday as the winner of May's national elections, progressive Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, was blocked again from forming a new government and simultaneously suspended from parliament by order of the country's Constitutional Court.
Thailand's push to restore civilian democratic rule after nearly a decade of de facto military control faces a critical test Thursday, as the junta-appointed Senate may be preparing to block the elections' big winner from forming a new government.
A U.S. citizen living in Thailand was arrested on charges of threatening to murder North Carolina Republican Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis along with their staffs because he was angry about receiving a huge number of unsolicited political emails.