The Kingdom of Thailand encounters new challenges

The article presents deeply polarized Thai society, a political crisis and confrontation between supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra against the royalists. The article presents how the crisis was sending convulsions across the country and influencing foreign policy and international situation of Thailand. The author describes last months in office of the caretaker prime minister Ms Yingluck Shinawatra (youngest sister of Thaksin) when she faced charges of negligence and malfeasance for her role in approving a rice – pledging scheme, when the government purchased rice from farmers at inflated prices in a move to be permanently in power. The author presents also the dramatic days, when army general Prayuth Chan-ocha declared martial law in a move to quell escalating unrest. In the article the role of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is shortly presented as well as enigmatic behaviour of successor – his only son Maha Vajiralongkorn. In the second part of the article the author presents reforms and policy of new prime minister general Prayuth, his promise about an election time frame. The article describes also the foreign policy of military government, and the role of Thailand in the growing competition between the big powers in the region of South East Asia, especially the United States and Japan against China