For the past month, political upheaval in Bangkok has once again dominated international news coverage of Thailand. On Aug. 7, Move Forward—a progressive party that won the most seats in the May 2023 election but was sidelined from power in post-election dealmaking—was disbanded by the country’s Constitutional Court. A week later, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who since last August had headed an uneasy governing coalition led by the Pheu Thai party, was forced out of office by the court and replaced as prime minister by Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
The abrupt change marks the latest chapter in the unstable alliance between Pheu Thai and the country’s pro-military parties that emerged in the aftermath of last year’s election. But the political intrigue in Bangkok has distracted attention from what should be urgent priorities for the government, particularly efforts to resolve the long-running conflict in southern Thailand, which has been showing worrying signs of escalation in recent months.
On Aug. 9, separatist insurgents detonated three bombs in a coordinated attack targeting the entrance to a fishing port and police housing in Mueang, in Pattani province. The first blast was designed to lure responding security forces to the scene before the second and third devices, one of which was a powerful vehicle bomb, were triggered. The attack injured 10 people, including nine police officers. On June 30, another car bombing in Bannang Sata, in nearby Yala province, killed one person and wounded 21 outside police housing.