Corruption lurks everywhere where power intersects interest. No country is immune to it. At issue is what happens when corruption happens. News headlines against corruption in major Asian countries this week suggest that Thailand is lagging behind in the anti-corruption struggle. Countries can stay behind in all manner of well-being indicators from growth and education to infrastructure and healthcare, but being left behind by the scourge of corruption is ultimately the worst of all.
China has been out front in fighting corruption. This country has been criticised for human rights violations and autocratic rule, especially now that President Xi Jinping has effectively extended his leadership role for the next decade. China has also verged on belligerence by taking over and making rocks and reefs into artificial islands in the South China Sea, subsequently placing weapons and military personnel on them. Around the Mekong River, China has built upstream and hogged water at the expense of downstream countries. Despite its impressive economic performance, this autocratic country under one-party rule has a lot to answer for.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak teaches at the Faculty of Political Science and directs the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.
