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Richard S. Ehrlich

Richard S. Ehrlich

rehrlich@washingtontimes.com

Richard S. Ehrlich's foreign correspondence is often highlighted in the Threat Status daily newsletter produced by The Washington Times. He is based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Articles by Richard S. Ehrlich

President Joe Biden, from left, Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah pose for a family photo at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A geopolitical tug of war as Thailand woos investors for long-coveted ‘Land Bridge’

In search of international capital, the Thai government is actively wooing China to help build a long-sought east-west highway and railway "Land Bridge" bisecting the country, linking the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand as a shortcut for oil and other international cargo that currently must sail further south via Singapore and the Malacca Strait.

February 14, 2024
In this photo provided by Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, Thai and Israeli officials including the Thai Ambassador to Israel Pannabha Chandraramya, left, pay respect to the bodies of eight Thai nationals killed in Israel during the Israel-Hamas war, at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 19 2023, before the bodies are sent back to Thailand. (Thailand’s Foreign Ministry via AP) **FILE**

High number of hostages drags Thailand into faraway fight

Thailand has begun negotiating directly with representatives of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Iran in a bid to release perhaps as many as 54 Thai hostages from Gaza, the largest single bloc of citizens from one country among the scores of kidnapped foreigners.

October 30, 2023
Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin addresses to the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

U.S.-China rivalry reignites as new Thai government finds its footing

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.

September 22, 2023
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) raises a ballot before voting at a polling station at Takhmua in Kandal province, southeast Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on July 23, 2023. Longtime Cambodian leader Hun Sen says he will step down in three weeks as prime minister and hand the position to his oldest son. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Longtime Cambodian leader Hun Sen to step aside to let son rule

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who won reelection just last week, announced on Wednesday he would install his West Point-trained son next month as the country's leader and resign after monopolizing politics, jailing rivals and silencing free speech during his nearly four decades in power.

July 26, 2023
Pita Limjaroenrat, left, the leader of Move Forward Party and top winner in the May's general election attends a meeting at Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Thailand's Constitutional Court has agreed to suspend Pita, a candidate to become prime minister, from his duties as a member of Parliament pending its ruling on whether he violated election law. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Regime allies deny Thai election winner a chance to form government

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 suspended from parliament by order of the Constitutional Court.

July 19, 2023
Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Move Forward Party and top winner in the May's general election, answers question from a lawmaker at the Parliament, in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, July 13, 2023. Thai lawmakers are gathering Thursday to select a new prime minister, a process whose outcome is far from certain even though the country's most progressive party won both the popular vote and the most seats in the House of Representatives in the most recent election. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Pita, Thai election winner, blocked from forming government

Thailand's nine-year struggle to restore civilian democracy hit a major roadblock Thursday when the government-appointed Senate voted against the biggest winner in May's national elections, plunging this U.S. ally into a fresh political crisis.

July 13, 2023
Leader of Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat, center, answers a question from a reporter after signing a memorandum of understanding on attempt to form a coalition government between Move Forward Party and other parties during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 22, 2023. Move Forward won the most seats in the May 14 election, and it has formed a coalition that seeks to become the government when Parliament selects a prime minister in July. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand’s road back to democratic rule faces key test

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.

July 11, 2023