Groundhog Day came late this year to the Land of Smiles.

Contact Your Elected Officials

Every blue moon โ€” 1981, 1985, 1991, 2006, and 2014 most recently โ€” itโ€™s the same rigmarole: on whatever pretext, the army commandeers the state with vague promises to restore democracy at some unspecified future date.

Nothing much changes in the interim periods between coups, except a few well-connected elites get tossed out of the Big Club and the rest are allowed to go on getting richer.

Which is to say: itโ€™s really not all that different from Our Sacred Democracyโ„ข in America, but with slightly less compelling window-dressing and more in-your-face optics.

RelatedJohn Bolton Vows to Resurrect USAID Post-Trump

The rumored coup of 2025 comes against the backdrop of a Thai-Cambodia border dispute over territory in eastern Thailand long claimed by each country as its own.

Via Khaosod English (emphasis added):

โ€œThe recent dispute was triggered in May after armed forces of Thailand and Cambodia briefly fired at each other in a relatively small โ€œno manโ€™s landโ€ constituting territory along their border that both countries claim as their ownโ€ฆ

The contesting claims stem largely from a 1907 map drawn under French colonial rule that was used to separate Cambodia from Thailand.

Cambodia has been using the map as a reference to claim territory, while Thailand has argued the map is inaccurate.โ€

In response, major Thai power player in exile and close China ally Thaksin Shinawatraโ€™s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, current prime minister, was caught on a leaked phone call addressing former Cambodian PM and another Chinese proxy, Hun Sen, as โ€œuncle,โ€ a term of deference in Thai.

She also referred to the Thai commander handling the border clash as an โ€œopponent,โ€ enraging the ultra-powerful Thai military brass.

Via South China Morning Post (emphasis added):

โ€œPaetongtarn Shinawatraโ€™s coalition government in Thailand is teetering on the edge of collapse following the prime ministerโ€™s leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, but observers are mixed on whether a feared military coup will occur.

In the leaked audio clip which emerged on Wednesday, Paetongtarn was heard addressing Hun Sen, a family friend, as โ€œuncleโ€ and appeared to dismiss a Thai military commander.

The clip has sparked outrage from quarters of the countryโ€™s ruling coalition, including the withdrawal of a key royalist partner group of Paetongtarnโ€™s Pheu Thai party, as well as calls for her to resignโ€ฆ

Prem Singh Gill, a visiting scholar at the Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakartaโ€™s faculty of law, saidโ€ฆ that a coup was โ€œincreasingly likely in the immediate termโ€, noting that the leaked audio had created a perfect juridical pretext for military intervention under Thailand constitutional framework.

โ€œPaetongtarnโ€™s characterisation of the 2nd Army Area Commander as the โ€˜opposing sideโ€™ constitutes what legal scholars would classify as seditious speech against state institutions,โ€ Gill warned, adding it could also be seen as a textbook violation of her oath of office.โ€

As one might expect, the Thai military, which at all times exercises near-hegemonic authority even in the periods of nominal democratic rule, took none too kindly to having the prime minister undercut its legitimacy to a foreign adversary in the middle of a border dispute.

Barring some intervention by the Grand Palace, all signs point to Humvees in the streetsโ€ฆ again.

Ben Bartee
Ben Barteehttps://armageddonprose.substack.com/
BEWARE!!! Ben Bartee never minces words, so read at your own risk. Ben is a Bangkok-based American journalist, grant writer, political essayist, researcher, travel blogger, and amateur philosopher -- with opposable thumbs. He is the author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile.

The Woke Left Goes Lock, Stock And Cracker Barrel

Another legendary American institution has been targeted by woke leftists. This time it is the popular family restaurant chain, Cracker Barrel, founded inย 1969.

โ€˜Indigenous Drag Story Hourโ€™: A Back-to-Public-School Treat For the Kids

I gave leading child-grooming outfit Drag Queen Story Hour my email to solicit me for funds to convert more public school kids into trannies.

Is Trumpโ€™s Throw Down Going Down?

During a recent announcement at the White House, President Trump, and other participants appeared without ties and with there top shirt buttons undone.

Defying Mr. Softee

Revived after decades of decline, the Presidential Physical Fitness Test returns as a merit-based antidote to rising childhood obesity and chronic disease.

DOJ Releases Maxwell Proffer Transcript: CASE CLOSED?

DOJ releasedย transcript and audio recordingsย of Ghislaine Maxwellโ€™s proffer โ€” an image-laundering operation to get herself a pardon for sex-trafficking crimes.

Federal Judge Blocks Texas Law on Ten Commandments in Classrooms

Court in Texas issued preliminary injunction temporarily blocking new state law that would have required public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments.

Interpol-Led Operation Leads to Arrests of More Than 1,200 Suspected Cybercriminals in Africa

A sweeping intergovernmental operation coordinated by Interpol resulted in arrests of 1,209 alleged cybercriminals across Africa and takedown of 11,432 malicious infrastructures.

California Moves Forward on Redistricting in Retaliation Against Texas

California signed an order to redraw its election boundaries to favor Democrats in a retaliatory act, ahead of a Texas Republican effort to do the same.

Truck Driver Accused by Trump Administration of Being in the US Illegally Is Denied Bond

A illegal alien truck driver accused of making an illegal U-turn that killed three people in Florida last week was denied bond Saturday.

Trump Warns He May Send Troops to Baltimore to Fight Crime

President Trump suggested heโ€™s contemplating sending National Guard troops to Baltimore, Maryland, to fight โ€œcrime disasterโ€ in the city.

Trumpโ€™s Tariffs Will Reduce Deficits by $4 Trillion Over Next Decade, Says CBO Report

A report released by the CBO predicted that President Donald Trumpโ€™s tariffs will reduce federal deficits by around $4 trillion over the next decade.

USDA Issues Memorandum Prioritizing American Energy on National Forest Lands

Secretary Rollins said that the United States will no longer allow foreign-made solar panels or inefficient energy projects to undermine national security.

US Pauses Visas for Commercial Truck Drivers, Citing Safety and Other Impacts

The Trump administration will immediately pause the issuance of all worker visas for commercial truck drivers, Sec of State Marco Rubio said.
spot_img

Related Articles