July 1, 2025: Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s suspension from duty follows a phone conversation at the highest national level, so everyone of her global counterparts had better watch out.
No disrespect to Cambodia, but if it can do it, anyone else will be tempted. Countries with greater technological advancement certainly can sabotage perceived enemies without a single shot fired.
This is what a popular AI system has to say about direct phone contacts between world leaders:
“Recordings are not typically public and are often kept confidential due to diplomatic sensitivities and national security concerns. The recordings can be subject to various levels of classification and are usually handled with great care. There have been instances of leaks or disclosures, but they are exceptions rather than the norm.”
Cambodia has made sure “rare” is not getting any rarer. It has shown the world how effectively and disastrously a leak can affect opponents at the highest level across the border.
It only took days for the leak of Paetongtarn’s phone conversation with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen to trigger a massive protest against her in Thailand and result in her suspension from prime ministerial duty.
And Thailand is not the only “divided” country in the world where anti-government protests take place regularly for far “lesser” reasons.
Imagine things that are not supposed to go public between China and America or between America and Israel are leaked with certifiable voices. We can kiss “open-heart” phone calls between superpower leaders goodbye.
But it’s not just long-distance talks. There may come a day when Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and the likes are asked to leave their phones before entering a summit room. Maybe those people frisking each other before settling down together privately in that room is a bit of a stretch, but there’s a first time for everything.
Daily updates and opinions on local and world events by Tulsathit Taptim
