It was a year defined by war with Cambodia, but also the unravelling of cyber scams around Thailand’s borders, the rise and demise of political dynasties and another period of musical chairs in the prime minister’s office.
There was also national mourning with the death of Queen Mother Sirikit, a towering figure over recent Thai history, and the omnipresence of Lalisa Manobal – or Lisa of South Korean girl group Blackpink – who rapped, acted, gyrated and produced content that seized the internet.
This was Thailand’s year:
Phones, bombs and yet another PM
A leaked phone call in June caught then Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra calling Cambodia’s ex-leader Hun Sen “uncle” and appearing to cast shade on the Thai army in a bungled bid to diffuse a border squabble.
Her perceived genuflection to the smaller neighbour was calamitous for her government and appeared to trigger a chain reaction that has defined the year.
Soon, Thai bombers were hitting Cambodian targets, while their neighbours fired volleys of rockets over the border in five vicious days of conflict that left dozens dead on both sides.
Paetongtarn was then booted from office over the call, as another Thai government fell. Her father, the political heavyweight and tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, also ran out of luck and was sent to jail for a year after an initial reprieve.
