Paetongtarn Shinawatra

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Central figure in Pheu Thai's current leadership

Thaksin Shinawatra walked out of detention in Bangkok wearing an electronic ankle monitor. The 76-year-old former prime minister had served about eight months of a one-year sentence tied to abuse-of-power convictions from his time in office two decades ago.

Updated May 31

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Removed from office August 2025 over leaked phone call

A Cambodian soldier died in a border firefight on May 28, and within two months, the countries were exchanging artillery fire and airstrikes across a dozen locations. Three ceasefires—brokered by Malaysia, pressured by Trump, and witnessed by ASEAN—have left over 100 dead and a million displaced, yet the December 27 truce may fail like the others.

Updated May 16

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Removed from office by Constitutional Court over leaked call with Hun Sen

Thailand's prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, dissolved parliament barely three months into his term. He called a snap election while Thai troops trade artillery fire with Cambodia along an 800-kilometre border.

Updated May 15

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Led Thailand at the start of the 2025 clashes before a change in government

In 2025, a long-simmering territorial dispute along the 817 km Thailand–Cambodia border reignited after a May 28 clash near Preah Vihear killed a Cambodian soldier. The incident sparked a five-day July war—at least 48 dead, about 300,000 displaced—that ended when Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim brokered a ceasefire.

Updated May 10