For foreign investors, Indonesia and Vietnam beckon more than Thailand because of their larger internal markets. Hanoi is also a member of the trade-liberalising Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement while Bangkok dithers on trade policy. So disappointing is Thailand's sliding trajectory that it is easier to imagine another military coup in Bangkok than to see it happening elsewhere in the region, even in previously coup-prone Myanmar and the Philippines. No sign of Thailand's fall from democratic grace is more powerful and poignant than all the daily news emanating from a now-democratic Myanmar.
Thailand still has a lot going for it, and its people are resilient and resourceful. But the feeling that this country is moving to the periphery of major goings-on is inescapable. It will all depend on how long this all takes. If power-mongering and self-interested elites keep going after one another, Thailand's political crisis will not bottom out for some time. This could be a longer period than anticipated where opportunity costs will mount and not as much will be left after the infighting and power struggles reach a critical and exhaustive point. A changing neighbourhood that is broadly on its way up from Myanmar and Vietnam to Indonesia and the Philippines should remind and entice Thai elites to come to terms and mutual accommodation before Thailand slips further away from global and regional attention.