Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts

Thailand’s Kra Land Bridge (Might) Reshape Asia

December 26, 2023 (NEO - Brian Berletic) - Thailand’s government has put together a serious proposal to build a land bridge across the Thai Kra Isthmus connecting ports on either side, providing an alternative for maritime shipping transiting the Malacca Strait, saving several days of travel in the process.


The project, if completed, would transform Asia’s economic and even security architecture. The land bridge, along with the still-under-construction Thai-Chinese high-speed railway, would solidify Thailand’s role as a regional logistics hub connecting the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, and also moving freight and people from across Southeast Asia to and from China and the rest of Eurasia.

The development would seriously undermine US economic and military dominance over the region, prompting Western commentators to disingenuously condemn the project as damaging and dangerous in a bid to generate opposition to it.

The Kra Canal and Land Bridge: Old Ideas, New Impetus 

The idea of creating a Panama or Suez-style canal across Thailand’s southern Kra Isthmus isn’t new. It has been proposed in many different forms over the years, with feasibility studies conducted periodically. Because of the difficulty of building a canal, the idea of building a land bridge instead has not only been proposed, but Thailand’s Highway 44 completed in 2003 was built as the first stage of a much more ambitious land bridge infrastructure project.

Highway 44 was constructed with a particularly large median to accommodate the future construction of rail tracks and pipelines. Ports on either side of the isthmus also have yet to be built. While the project remains incomplete, the roadway serves the dual purpose of connecting other forms of traffic crossing the isthmus.

Under the previous Thai administration of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, a new feasibility study was conducted along with the drafting of proposals. More recently, the current administration of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin formally proposed the construction of a fully functioning land bridge during the 2023 APEC summit in San Francisco, United States.

In his statement at the summit, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin discussed the growing congestion through the Malacca Strait and the need for alternative routes. He described the land bridge as “an additional important route to support transportation and an important option for resolving the problems of the Malacca Strait. This will be a cheaper, faster, and safer route.” 

The land bridge will reduce travel time by between 3 and 14 days, depending on the particular origin and destination of cargo.

The Thai prime minister’s statement also made it clear that the land bridge would not serve as a replacement for routes passing through the Malacca Strait, but rather as an alternative to existing routes, capable of moving up to 23% of the shipping currently passing through the Malacca Strait.

Thailand to Speed Up Construction of Joint-Chinese High-Speed Railway

December 12, 2023 (NEO - Brian Berletic) - Thailand’s recently renewed commitment toward finishing the already under-construction Thai-Chinese high-speed railway may help move the Southeast Asian nation forward, out of the shadow of years of Western-induced political instability, and into the light of peace and prosperity as it and the rest of the region rise with China.

The recent announcement has triggered condemnation from Western commentators who support Washington, London, and Brussel’s agenda of maintaining dominance over Asia and shaping Southeast Asia into a united front against a rising China.

As Thailand takes the final steps toward finishing this and other ambitious joint projects with China, the US and its extensive network of political opposition groups both within Thailand and beyond its borders are likely to make an attempt to both block these projects and undermine the government and other interests seeing them through.

Speeding Up Thailand’s High-Speed Railway 

China’s Xinhua news agency in an article titled, “Thailand to accelerate construction of China-Thailand railway: PM,” would report that Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin highlighted the importance of the high-speed railway project for regional development and announced plans to speed up construction after years of delays.

The article reported:

“Logistics is one of the significant issues for Thailand regarding BRI cooperation and Thailand will enhance the connection between its domestic railways and the China-Laos Railway, a flagship BRI project in the region,” Srettha said in an interview with Xinhua before his official visit to China earlier this month, during which he also attended the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Thailand has already benefited greatly from the already completed Lao-Chinese high-speed railway. The high-speed railway, connecting Laos (Thailand’s neighbor to the north) to China, also serves as a new route for Thai products to reach Chinese markets, as Global Times reported in its April article, “China-Laos-Thailand freight train completes first heavy-load return trip.”

Currently, Thailand moves goods to the border with Laos via its existing rail and road networks. The completion of a high-speed railway within Thailand itself will supercharge the movement of goods and people both between Thailand and its neighbors, but also within Thailand itself.

A high-speed railway connected to China’s vast domestic high-speed rail network means even greater numbers of Chinese tourists (who already make up the largest number of tourists visiting Thailand) will arrive not only in the capital city of Bangkok, but also in more remote areas so far relatively inaccessible to most tourists.

China has already demonstrated the benefits of its high-speed rail network domestically toward economic development. Expanding it across Southeast Asia means sharing its benefits far beyond China’s own borders.

Asian Cooperation Undermines Western Primacy 

Despite Thailand’s eagerness to expand what is clearly already beneficial cooperation with China and the rest of the region, Western publications argue there are “consequences” that await if this and other projects move forward.

The Diplomat, a Western publication partnered with a network of Western government and corporate-funded policy institutes, in its article, “Thailand’s High-Speed Railway: On the Fast Track to Ties With China, But at What Cost?,” attempts to argue against the completion of the Thai-Chinese high-speed railway.

It claims:

While the project aims to stimulate economic growth and regional development, it has generated significant concerns. They are apprehensive about Thailand’s deepening partnership with China and the resulting increase in integration with the southern neighbor. These concerns encompass worries about potential impacts on Thai national sovereignty, doubts regarding the project’s necessity due to the existing rail connection to Nong Khai, and concerns about the financial involvement of foreign partners, particularly China, which could lead to debt accumulation and economic vulnerabilities.

Nowhere in the article is an attempt made to argue against the Thai administration’s belief that the project will act as “a catalyst for stimulating economic growth and fostering progress in the region.” 

And while the article waves around the familiar narrative of Chinese “debt trap diplomacy,” it eventually admits deep within the article that:

Currently, no immediate issues exist, but potential challenges may arise in the future, particularly in the context of maintaining a balanced relationship with major powers like China when engaging with foreign partners.

The article refuses to openly and plainly say what the collective West actually thinks. The West, which had at one point colonized most of Southeast Asia, sees China’s rise and the rest of Asia with it as a closing window of opportunity for reasserting Western primacy over the region.

Will the US Pressure Southeast Asia into Arming Ukraine?

August 24, 2023 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - In mid-August as Ukraine’s offensive remained stalled on the battlefield, Russian officials claimed the US was pressuring Southeast Asia to transfer Soviet-made arms to Ukraine.


In a TASS article titled, “US twists arms of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia to send Soviet weapons to Kiev — top brass,” it was claimed that the purpose of doing this was to “prolong the conflict in Ukraine by all possible means.

The development reflects a much larger problem the US and its allies face as they continue encouraging Ukraine to fight Russian forces.

The Desperate Search for More Arms 

The desperate search for more arms for Ukraine has been a central theme amid US and European support of the conflict since it began. Russia’s military reduced Ukrainian forces, both in terms of trained manpower and equipment in the opening months of the Special Military Operation (SMO). What weaponry Ukraine had left was quickly running out of ammunition.

A desperate bid to scour the planet for spare Soviet-era arms and ammunition was made along with the decision to incrementally replace all of Ukraine’s Soviet-era weapons with NATO equipment. This included sending M777 howitzers, M109 self-propelled guns, the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, and eventually even NATO main battle tanks like the Leopard 2 from Germany, the Challenger 2 from the UK, and possibly even the M1 Abrams from the US.

There is now also ongoing talk of replacing Ukraine’s dwindling number of Soviet-era warplanes and munitions with US-made F-16s and associated ordnance.

The next problem that presented itself was the reality that NATO was incapable of producing enough of its own equipment and ammunition to meet the rates of fire and losses Ukraine faced on the battlefield.  US and European artillery shell production, for example, is vastly outpaced by Russian shell production. Even after a planned expansion of production expected to be completed by 2027, the US and EU will still be producing fewer shells per month than the Russian Federation currently produces.

In the meantime, the US and the rest of NATO have insisted that Ukraine change its methods on the battlefield to conserve ammunition and equipment, relying more on NATO-style maneuver warfare and even on unmounted soldiers with small arms, exacting a tremendous casualty rate on an already badly battered Ukrainian military.

The recent Ukrainian offensive, launched in early June, proved that this was not plausible and that the only hope of Ukraine succeeding on the battlefield, or at a minimum, to continue fighting on, was indeed for the US and the rest of NATO to provide Ukraine with many more weapons and ammunition.

Recruiting a Reluctant Southeast Asia 

Toward this end, it appears the US is pressuring Southeast Asia, which has so far attempted to remain neutral in the conflict. The goal is to transfer what Soviet-era and now Russian-made equipment Southeast Asia has on hand to Ukraine.

While the TASS article mentions no specifics, Vietnam and Thailand, especially, have plenty of compatible equipment and ammunition that would indeed help perpetuate the conflict.

Vietnam has long considered Russia to be a close ally, stretching back to the days of the US-led Vietnam War and continuing to today. Vietnam is by far the largest importer of Russian-made weapons, including systems that would be compatible with Ukrainian stockpiles and inventories including everything from warplanes and helicopters, to tanks, artillery systems, and air defense systems.

Thailand, while widely viewed as a close non-NATO ally of the United States, has in recent years diversified away from US and European-made weapons and has acquired a growing number of Russian and Chinese-made equipment as well as systems compatible with both.

For example, Thailand has a growing collection of Russian-made Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters, a cheaper and more capable aircraft compared to Thailand’s existing fleet of US-made Blackhawk helicopters. Ukraine has been sent whatever Mi-17 helicopters the US and its allies could find, including those originally meant for the now extinct US client regime in Afghanistan, US state media Voice of America reported last year.

New Thai Government’s Vows Obedience to US Foreign Policy: Myanmar is First Victim

June 7, 2023 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - Following recent general elections in Thailand, influenced heavily by years of US interference, a pro-US proxy regime is poised to take power.


Even before officially taking office, the leadership of the victorious Move Forward Party has vowed to help pursue US foreign policy objectives both in regards to “rebalancing” Thailand away from China and back toward the West, as well as regarding US interference elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and more specifically, Myanmar.

New Thai Government and US to Aid Militants in Nextdoor Myanmar 

The Irrawaddy, a media outlet funded by the US government through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED, is recognized as an undesirable organization in Russia), in a recent article titled, “Thailand Will No Longer Be Quiet on Myanmar: Incoming Coalition,” would boldly announce this stark pivot for Thai foreign policy.

The article would claim:

Fuadi Pitsuwan, foreign affairs chief for MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, said the incoming government will revive Thai foreign policy to improve its image in ASEAN and alleviate Myanmar’s political crisis.

The article would note Fuadi Pitsuwan’s US education via Harvard and Georgetown University where he studied foreign service, which may explain why both he and the rest of his US-backed party have now so eagerly embraced not Thailand’s best interests, or even Southeast Asia’s or Eurasia’s best interests, but instead seek to implement US foreign policy objectives.

The article even points out Fuadi Pitsuwan and Move Forward’s desire to pivot back West despite the obvious lack of rational incentive to do so.

The article says:

He added that under the new government, Thailand will rebalance its foreign policy to restore its reputation in the international arena. Under the Prayut government, Bangkok foreign policy leaned away from western countries and more towards China.

The article continues, making it clear that Thailand’s foreign policy isn’t merely similar to Washington’s, it is Washington’s foreign policy that Thailand seeks to aid in implementing.

The article discusses Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s “Myanmar policy,” noting:

Pita highlighted the importance of the Burma Act, which he said Thailand would use to “start working with the international community to make sure that we have the right amount of pressure and incentives for people to resolve their conflict”. 

Passed by US Congress last December, the Burma Act authorizes US funding of non-lethal support for resistance forces in Myanmar.

Any involvement in Myanmar’s internal political affairs is a violation international law and more specifically, the UN Charter through its protection of national sovereignty and its prohibition against foreign interference. Such involvement also violates the fundamental principles of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which include, “non-interference in the internal affairs of one another,” and the “settlement of differences or disputes by [a] peaceful manner.” Both Thailand and Myanmar are ASEAN member states.

Not only is Washington’s “Burma Act” and Move Forward Party’s vow to assist in implementing it a violation of international law under the UN Charter and ASEAN’s fundamental principles, by providing “non-lethal aid” to what The Irrawaddy calls “resistance forces,” the US and its proxies within Move Forward will be fuelling an armed conflict.

US Proxies Win Thai Elections – US-Chinese Tensions Set to Grow

May 17, 2023 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - In a development that will surely impact growing US-Chinese tensions, US-backed opposition parties have won Thailand’s May 14, 2023, general elections.


A US-backed client regime taking power in Thailand will impact China’s Belt and Road Initiative, threaten bilateral trade and tourism, and perhaps even undermine regional security. This is particularly so should Thailand now begin working more closely with Washington over matters in the South China Sea, over Taiwan, or a number of other points of contention the US seeks to use to unify the region against Beijing, but that Thailand had so far refused to be drawn into.

The two largest opposition parties, Move Forward Party and Pheu Thai Party, defacto run by billionaires Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Thaksin Shinawatra respectively, secured the largest number of seats in parliament. However, there are a number of legal and procedural hurdles that await them, including a selected senate with significant influence over who will be the next prime minister, as well as a number of legal cases which could potentially dissolve one or both parties.

The Political Capture of Thailand 

While Thailand remains the only nation in Southeast Asia to have avoided Western colonization, over the years the US has poured millions of dollars into the Thai opposition, not only helping to build up the political parties themselves, but also by exercising growing control over Thailand’s media and information space, as well as growing influence over Thailand’s educational system.

Because Thailand has failed to act against US interference, it has reached critical mass and has resulted in considerable control over a large and growing electorate especially among young voters who will vote in favor of US-backed parties and against Thailand’s own best interests consistently.

The US government through the National Endowment for Democracy (banned in Russia) has built up legal organizations that lobby to rewrite Thailand’s constitution, media organizations that promote opposition politicians and help organize and lead political protests, and organizations involved in the elections themselves.

US Meddling in Thai Elections: Seeking to Create an Anti-China Proxy

March 20, 2023 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) - The Southeast Asian Kingdom of Thailand is slated to hold general elections in May of this year. Thailand, with the second largest economy in ASEAN and with a population of nearly 70 million people, has grown far too close to China for Washington’s liking. Because of this, Washington sees the elections as an opportunity to remove the current circles of power and replace them with opposition parties they have supported for years and how have openly pledged to “rebalance” away from China, and toward the US.


The US government has invested millions of dollars over decades in Thailand to create media networks, lobbying groups, “rights” organizations, and even protest movements meant to aid Washington’s proxies of choice into power, or otherwise contest their defeat and reverse electoral outcomes in the streets.

Why is the US Meddling in Thailand? 

The US is involved in political interference all along China’s periphery. This is done in a bid to encircle and contain China itself through the creation of US client regimes hostile toward Beijing. The US has already maneuvered a pro-Washington government into power in neighboring Malaysia to the south and is backing violent terrorism in Myanmar to the west after the military there ousted Washington’s government of choice in 2021.

Cambodia to Thailand’s east has embarked on an extensive campaign to uproot US-sponsored media organizations and opposition parties culminating in the recent jailing of Cambodian opposition leader, Kem Sokha, who openly admitted in a video that the US government was aiding him in a Serbia-style color revolution.

Thailand is being targeted because, despite the common misconception that Thailand is a major non-NATO ally of the US, over the last decade or more, Thailand has cultivated a strong and still-growing relationship with China.

China represents Thailand’s largest trade partner, its largest investor, and its largest infrastructure development partner. Notable in terms of infrastructure is a high-speed rail network already under construction that will connect Thailand to China via the high-speed rail line already completed and operating in Laos to Thailand’s north.

China is also Thailand’s largest source of tourism. Before COVID-19 closed the borders of many nations around the world to tourism, more tourists were arriving in Thailand from China than from all Western nations combined.

Thailand has also begun cooperating with China in terms of defense in recent years. Thailand is replacing a large amount of its aging US military hardware with Chinese alternatives. Thailand has purchased a variety of systems big and small from China including VT4 main battle tanks, a large variety of armored fighting vehicles, naval vessels including the Kingdom’s first modern submarines, and mobile air defense systems.

Thailand has also worked with China on jointly-developed weapon systems like the DTI-1 guided multiple launch rocket system and has conducted military exercises exclusively with China.

Thailand: US-backed Opposition's Violence Intimidates Critics, Paves Way for Regime Change

October 19, 2022 (The New Atlas) - The US-backed opposition in Thailand replicates in many ways the violence and intimidation the US sponsored in Ukraine from 2014 onward - just as Ukraine is meant as a proxy against Russia - a US client regime in Thailand would transform the country into a proxy against China.


An alarming incident of violence where a Thai opposition leader publicly assaulted his critic is dangerously being portrayed as "heroic" by Western-sponsored opposition media to encourage further violence and intimidation - creating the same division and destruction throughout Thai society that is currently consuming Ukraine.

References: 


Land Destroyer (The New Atlas) - The Complete Guide: US Government Role in Thailand's "Student Protests":
https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-complete-guide-us-government-role.html
The New Atlas - Why is Washington Backing Violent Mobs in Thailand?: https://youtu.be/CEzpYKVfcKU

Oslo Freedom Forum: US Proxies Train and Plan for the Next "Ukraine"

June 5, 2022 (The New Atlas) - The Oslo Freedom Forum serves as the latest iteration of the US State Department's training ground for subversion around the globe - following in line US-sponsored unrest in Ukraine in 2014 and the so-called "Arab Spring" in 2011. 


Who is attending the Oslo Freedom Forum, what takes place there, and what is expected of attendees once they return to their respective nations?

Thailand's NGO Law vs US Meddling

June 3, 2022 (The New Atlas) - A new draft NGO law in Thailand in the process of being passed. 




It has led to US-funded fronts posing as "nongovernmental organizations" to protest both in Thailand and by writing letters to the US government demanding they stop the Thai government from passing the law - proving just how dangerous US-funded meddling is in Thailand and how necessary the law is in the first place.

Washington’s Indo-Pacific “Allies” Refuse to Host US Missiles

May 7, 2022 (Brian Berletic - New Eastern Outlook) -As part of Washington’s long-standing strategy of encircling and containing China, it seeks to add to its already immense military footprint along China’s periphery, missile installations and specifically, ground-based intermediate-range missiles (GBIRMs) across the Indo-Pacific Region.


A research paper funded by the US government and published by the RAND Corporation titled, “Ground-Based Intermediate-Range Missiles in the Indo-Pacific Assessing the Positions of US Allies,” claims this is necessary because China has developed “a wide array of capabilities that the United States was prohibited from fielding” because of America’s adherence to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of which it is no longer a signatory.

The purpose of the paper is to determine where best to locate these missiles because the US itself has no territory in the region close enough to China and its GBIRMs to put them in check. This, however, is also an admission that China’s GBIRM capabilities are not a danger to the US itself, but rather to US “interests” in the Indo-Pacific region including first and foremost its desired primacy over it.

The paper considers various US “allies” who might host the missiles including Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia, and Japan.

In each case there are serious complications including the fact that most of these “allies” have close and ever-growing ties with China economically and in some cases even militarily.

Thailand: US Needs Regime Change

Regarding Thailand, the RAND paper cites two obstacles, the first being:

…since the coup, Thailand has not held fair elections resulting in a democratically elected government. Instead, the forces behind the coup remain in power, with a pro-military government pushing the country further down the road of authoritarianism. Observers recognize the February 2019 elections as anything but fair, and the government continues to weaken Thailand’s democratic institutions. The continuing presence of the military-backed government in Bangkok prevents the United States from strengthening US-Thai military relations. As long as this remains true, requesting this regime to host US GBIRMs is highly unlikely.

In reality, RAND’s conclusion that elections in Thailand were “anything but fair” is based solely on the fact that the US client regime of choice – a coalition between US-backed billionaires Thaksin Shinawatra and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit simply failed to win and take office.

As Thailand Attempts to Clean Up Foreign-Funded NGOs, US Interests Kick & Scream

April 4, 2022 (The New Atlas) - As Thailand prepares a new NGO law to encourage better transparency, accountability, and oversight of foreign-funded organizations including those involved in subversive and violent protests - pro-Western media has begun kicking and screaming in opposition to it. 




References: 


Thai Volunteers Poisoned by Western Media Sign up for Ukraine Fight

March 19, 2022 (Brian Berletic - NEO) - As Russia’s special operations continue in Ukraine so does the West’s propaganda war against it. The propaganda is particularly effective but also particularly predictable in terms of who will be drawn in by it and become hysterical because of it.


This includes right-wing extremists from across the Western world but also the many US-sponsored “pro-democracy” movements elsewhere. This includes within the Southeast Asian Kingdom of Thailand.

Reuters in an article titled, “Thai democracy activists sign up to fight ‘tyranny’ in Ukraine,” would claim:

Far-off Thailand might not seem an obvious place for recruits to Ukraine’s efforts to raise an international volunteer force to defend against Russia’s invasion.

But for former Thai Air Force conscript turned political activist Chanaphong “Ball” Phongpai, the cause is a natural fit for members of the pro-democracy movement that emerged in 2020 to protest a military-backed government in the Southeast Asian country.

Reuters would also claim that these Thai “activists” saw Russia as a “superpower and a tyrant,” lifting phrases verbatim from the halls of Western power and from across Western media headlines.

After years of covering up the violent nature of US-sponsored anti-government protest in Thailand, Reuters obliquely admitted in its more recent article that indeed the protests were violent, noting how those interested in fighting in Ukraine claimed they needed to “switch from holding bottle bombs to holding guns.”

Belt & Road: The China-Laos-Thailand Corridor

July 14, 2021 (Joseph Thomas - NEO) - China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reaches out in all directions, across Central Asia into Europe, up into Russia, through the seas and oceans of Asia, out to Africa and of course, deep into Southeast Asia. 


The Southeast Asian leg of BRI consists primarily of a now-under-construction high-speed rail (HSR) line connecting China’s Yunnan Province with Laos, Thailand and perhaps eventually Malaysia and Singapore. 


A large number of adjacent projects also are in the making and will complement other infrastructure projects recently constructed over the past decade or under construction now. 


This includes various expressways, particularly through mountainous Laos which have already cut trips by road from days to just a day from China’s border with Laos in the north to the nation’s capital of Vientiane near the Laotian-Thai border. Additional expressways are under construction to facilitate more traffic within and through Laos. 


Another expressway is currently proposed that will connect northern Thailand to southern China via Laos, cutting travel time between the two nations to just 2 hours. 


Bangkok Post’s article, “Laos surveys new expressway linking Thailand, China,” would note: 


The new road will connect with Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai via the existing bridge over the Mekong River.


The 180-kilometre highway would allow vehicles to travel at 80 kilometres per hour and a drive from Thailand to China through Laos would take less than two hours.


The HSR line itself will include both passenger and freight services and across Laos, a network of “landports” to facilitate regional logistical operations. 


The entire network is already under construction with Bangkok’s new Bang Sue Grand Station completed and ready to open this year, hosting Thailand’s high-speed trains in coming years, and the Laotian leg nearing completion with train services possibly coming online by the end of 2021 or early 2022. 


Western Derision & Hopes to Undermine 


Criticism for the network of transportation projects stretching into Southeast Asia, like criticism of the BRI itself, stem mainly from Western ambitions to prevent the rise of China and with it, the rise of the rest of Asia. 


US media sources like the US State Department’s Voice of America repeatedly floats accusations of Beijing employing “debt-trap diplomacy” while also admitting that Laos, until these projects began, was landlocked, isolating it from regional markets and preventing economic growth.  


US Will Seek to Meddle in Thai Constitutional Referendum

March 13, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - US government meddling around the globe isn't aimed only at elections and regime change, but also at the legal processes within any given targeted nation - including referendums for things up to and including constitutional changes. 


Thailand’s constitution will require 2 public referendums before being amended. This process is a matter of Thailand’s internal political affairs - but as in previous elections and regarding petitions to have the constitution rewritten in the first place - the US government and other Western special interests seek to influence and interfere in this strictly internal matter.

US government-funded fronts - through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) - need to be watched carefully as Thailand prepares for these referendums while raising public awareness of this interference is essential in giving the Thai government the leverage it will need to effectively deal with it.

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

How Bad Does the Western Media Lie?

March 10, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - The Thai Prime Minister recently joked with journalists - but through creative editing - the Western media was able to portray it as an "attack" all as part of a "bid to dodge some tough questions."



I show the original clip, the edited version the West presented to the public, and the danger of nations like Thailand not having English-language media to present their side of stories to international audiences to check and balance Western disinformation.

References:

Wassana Nanuam’s Twitter Account - Unedited Clip:
https://twitter.com/WassanaNanuam/status/1369181545198538754?s=20
Reuters - Irked Thai PM sprays reporters with hand sanitiser to duck tricky questions:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-politics-pm-spray-idUSKBN2B11SD
ABC Australia - Thailand Prime Minister sprays reporters with hand sanitiser to duck questions about cabinet appointments:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-10/thai-prime-minister-prayuth-chan-ocha-sprays-reporters-sanitiser/13232680

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

How & Why the Western Media Lies about Thai Protests

March 6, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - Reuters regularly distorts the events surrounding US-backed opposition protests in Thailand. 


Far from simply being because Reuters is “Western media,” it is now confirmed that Reuters has recently worked with Western governments to carry out intelligence operations to interfere in the political affairs of nations abroad under the guise of “journalism.”

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

Violent US-backed Hong Kong-Style Mobs in Thailand Continue

March 1, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - US-backed anti-government protesters in Thailand have once again "rebranded" to shake off the image of an unpopular, violent mob only to stage a poorly attended, extremely violent protest as their first "rally." 


I explain how this is part of a wider US plan to create a  regional crisis to deny China Southeast Asia as a viable economic, military, and political partner and how US-funded Thai opposition groups are working with US-funded protesters in Myanmar.

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

US NED 2021 - Thailand: More Money, More Sedition

February 28, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - The US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has updated its list for programs, organizations, and companies that it is funding in Thailand to interfere in Thailand's internal political affairs. This includes US government funding for companies that interfered in Thailand's 2019 general election. 



I explain how the NED's board of directors is made up of people who promote wars and regime change merely behind the smokescreen of "promoting democracy" and "freedom." I show which fronts the US has increased funding for as well as new fronts the US is now funding inside of Thailand. 

I also show how the US NED through programs and companies that it funded interfered in Thailand's 2019 general election on behalf of the US-backed billionaire opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his "Future Forward Party."

References: 

US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) - Board of Directors: 

https://www.ned.org/about/board-of-directors/

US NED - Scott Carpenter: 

https://www.ned.org/experts/scott-carpenter/

US NED - Thailand (2020):

https://www.ned.org/region/asia/thailand-2020/

US NED - Thailand (2019):

https://www.ned.org/region/asia/thailand-2019/

US NED - Thailand (2019) on Wayback Machine: 

https://web.archive.org/web/20201103163813/https://www.ned.org/region/asia/thailand-2019/

PunchUp World - About: 

https://punchup.world/about/

Thanisara Ruangdej on LinkedIn:

https://th.linkedin.com/in/thanisara-r

PunchUp World - Projects (page 3): 

https://punchup.world/project/page/3/

Elect.in.th - About:

https://elect.in.th/about/

Elect.in.th - Projects: 

https://elect.in.th/civictech/chapter04.html

Boonmee Lab - Team: 

https://www.boonmeelab.com/team/

US Embassy Bangkok - Boonmeelab/YouPin Founder Thiti Luang (2017): 

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1462398380447966

YouPin Organizes Future Forward “Hackathon” (2018):

https://www.facebook.com/youpin.city/posts/689416398079773


Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

Thailand to Regulate Abusive Foreign-Funded NGOs

February 28, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - US government-funded fronts posing as NGOs in Thailand have long undermined the image and role of legitimate nongovernmental organizations.   


New legislation has been proposed in Thailand to create more transparency regarding the foreign funding of NGOs in Thailand and to regulate their activities to ensure they fall within the real of non-profit organizations working for the public benefit rather than abusive fronts merely posing as such.

References: 


Bangkok Post - Govt to regulate all NGOs:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2073783/govt-to-regulate-all-ngos
National Endowment for Democracy - Thailand (2019):
https://www.ned.org/region/asia/thailand-2019/
Prachatai - About Us:
https://prachatai.com/english/about
LD - Why Taking US NED Money is Wrong:
https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2020/11/why-taking-us-ned-money-is-wrong.html

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here. 

BBC, Reuters Caught Running Secret IO

February 24, 2021 (Brian Berletic - LD) - Leaked documents reveal the BBC and Reuters received secret British government contracts to interfere politically both inside Russia and in nations along Russia’s borders. It is a documented case in reality of everything (and worse) the West has accused Russia of doing in unfounded fiction.



I explain how media organizations like the BBC and Reuters serve more as extensions of Western intelligence services - using journalism as a cover and how they constitute a national security threat to every nation they operate in around the globe.

References:

The Grayzone - Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat participated in covert UK Foreign Office-funded programs to “weaken Russia,” leaked docs reveal:
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/02/20/reuters-bbc-uk-foreign-office-russian-media/

The New Atlas - Soros Leaks Fallout: FCCT President, Members Lied about Open Society Ties:
http://www.thenewatlas.org/2016/08/soros-leaks-fallout-fcct-president.html

Brian Berletic, formally known under the pen name "Tony Cartalucci" is a geopolitical researcher, writer, and video producer (YouTube here and BitChute here) based in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a regular contributor to New Eastern Outlook and more recently, 21st Century Wire. You can support his work via Patreon here.