Analysis: Thai PM’s leaked call puts her political future at riskーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
it’s a turbulent time in Thai politics the prime minister’s political future appears to be at risk after the second largest party in her ruling coalition quit the alliance it was over a leaked phone call in which the leader appeared to undermine a Thai army commander peton Tang Shinawad had been speaking last weekend with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hunen he currently serves as Senate President the conversation delved into a border dispute between their countries she referred to him as uncle [Music] in a statement the Pumja Thai Party condemned Ponang saying she damaged Thailand’s sovereignty and the army’s dignity the party’s departure leaves the coalition with a slim majority in the lower house peton Tang later apologized and described her comments in the call as a negotiation tactic she has held office since August her government has been facing mounting criticism over its economic policies as well as its handling of the border dispute earlier I spoke with NHK World’s Takoka who is following this political turbulence from the Thai capital he explained what’s at stake chakashi let’s start with the phone call give us more context on that chat well it was spurred by a military clash with Cambodia last month the militaries of the two countries exchanged fire along the border killing one Cambodian soldier during the conversation Sunday Patentan called on Hungen to engage in dialogue rather than listen to what top military officials say in response Hungen called on Thailand to ease border controls that it had tightened after the clash negotiations were reaching a statement stalemate patentan’s father is former prime minister Takshin Shinawat he has had a close relationship with Hungen and as we heard Patton even calls calls Hunen uncle so it seems she tried to leverage the connection between the families but clearly it ended up blowing up in her face as for how the call leaked Cambodian news outlets say Hunen has admitted to recording and sharing it with dozens of government officials but it it remains unclear how it actually became public right either way it’s quite unusual for a confidential phone call on regional security to be leaked now let’s delve into the reaction shashi can you tell us about the blowback yes our comments triggered public outrage because they are being seen as disrespectful to the military the military repeatedly staged coups when the country faced political turmoil despite that it has maintained a certain level of public support and the latest tension at the border has strengthened that support political parties are aware of this including the conservative parties within the ruling coalition they have a long history of confrontation with patents for Thai party the coalition itself has already been far from stable given that it came into power with 11 parties in the group but even with one party calling it quits the coalition still hangs on to power slim as the majority may be how long do you see that lasting the situation is extremely unclear people are watching to see how the third largest United Thai nation party will react it says it will make a decision after speaking with Patton but some news outlets in the country say her resignation is inevitable they are already reporting on possible candidates to to replace her even if Paddington stays on the pressure likely won’t go away anytime soon in fact it’s expected to only escalate
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faces growing pressure over comments she made in a leaked phone call with a major Cambodian politician. NHK World’s Takaoka Chikashi explains the controversy and what comes next.
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