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Prof. Surachart “criminal activities along Moei River should be cracked down while responding to armed conflict at Mae Sot-Myawaddy border”

Transborder News, Mae Sot: On 22 April 2024 Prof. Dr. Surachart Bamrungsuk, security expert, has given an interview on the situation at the Thailand-Myanmar border in Tak’s Mae Sot District, as Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is about to visit the area on 23 April that what Thailand should promptly prepare is a strategic plan given the rapidly changing situation in Myanmar. Such rapid change has been compounded by the complex issues concerning the various ethnic groups and ongoing conflicts. 

According to Prof. Surachart, the problem sounds the alarm that the Thai government has to pay more meaningful attention to this problem. Fortunately, the current number of asylum seekers is not that many and not worrying. Still, it might signify the onslaught of influx if the situation escalates as the Myanmar Army will likely make an all-out attempt to reestablish their power over Myawaddy. Therefore, the response to the border problems should not be left solely to the responsibility of a military unit like the Third Army Region. Rather, it should be underpinned by concern about human security. For example, to address the need of asylum seekers, the Ministry of Interior should play a role. But right now, the MoI plays too little role, except what the Provincial Governor has been doing. 

“I look forward to a role of the Minister of Interior. He should make a visit to Mae Sot as problems concerning border trade are quite concerning. Myawaddy and Mae Sot are like twin cities as far as a trade strategy is concerned. The armed conflict definitely affects the economy there. In such case, the Ministry of Commerce and concerned authorities should become active in this issue as well. They’d better make a visit there to sort out issues including when to open the crossing. They have to think into the future if the Mae Sot checkpoint has to be closed for a longer period of time, what about other options like the Sing Khon Checkpoint in Prachuab Khirikhan” said Prof. Surachart.

The security expert further said that another important role should be placed on local organizations which have to work in tandem and in solidarity with each other. The key question is who should take the commanding role in this situation? It is impossible to have no commanding officer in the area since the situation appears to escalate. The government in Bangkok may contemplate on the overall security framework to ensure the tactical operation, but a local command center must be established. 

“I believe this is an unfamiliar question to us all. Right now, we only have the command center at the central level to give instructions. But we need to expand the idea. If the problem escalates, the state may need to talk with the Chambers of Commerce along the border from Chiang Rai, Tak, Kanchaburi, and Ranong which are the four main Chambers of Commerce in the Western front. A forum to talk should be inaugurated by a Deputy Prime Minister, or a Minister in charge of the economy since if the armed conflict protracts, it will inadvertently affect trade border along the whole West front” said Prof. Surachart.

Prof. Surachart said that it is good for the Prime Minister to visit the area to get to see the situation with his own eyes. But getting to see the situation is not enough, there should be an underpinning strategy given the rapidly changing situation due to the armed conflict. 

Asked about the Border Guard Forces (BGF) which has been involved with the criminal activities in Myawaddy which have become a parallel developing situation to the war, is the PM aware of such actors, and how they should come up with a policy response? Prof. Surachart said that I have always been reiterating that while plotting for a solution to the armed conflict in Myanmar, we need to set our sight on addressing the issues of Chinese scammers as well as they have migrated from Cambodia to Myawaddy. Any solution to the war must be thought out in parallel to an effort to crack down on the Chinses scammers, casinos, phone scams, and trafficking in person. The strategic challenge this time is more complicated than when we addressed the situation in Cambodia. And it is necessary for Thailand to talk with China on this. 

“I suggest the idea of three components; one foundation, three prongs and six channels. Thailand’s response to the issues in Myanmar must be based on the ASEAN’s 5-Point Consensus. The three prongs mean the coordination among the three political actions in Myanmar including the State Administration Council (SAC), the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) and the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and this is a key challenge for the government. The six channels mean our diplomacy with the USA, China, the European Union, Japan, India and Australia which should become active in advocating for solutions to the problems in Myanmar and to shoulder the responsibility as far as humanitarian aid is concerned” said the security expert. 

Asked about the strategy on the Western border and the traditional buffer state policy, at present, is it necessary for Thailand to establish a relation with various EAOs or not, and how Thailand should reconsider its role on this issue?  Prof. Surachart said that the buffer state strategy has often been criticized as being outdated, archaic and not fit for the present since it was used during the different kind of war. What happens is in over the past 20 years, the Thai government and the Thai Army have always coalesced their relations around the Myanmar military regime while neglecting our relations with the ethnic groups. 

“I am not suggesting that Thailand should interfere with Myanmar’s internal affairs. But we have to admit that we have been forging good relations along the border with various ethnic groups. Once we have abandoned the traditional strategy and simply focused around forging the relations with Yangon, it means we have abandoned everything including our traditional relations with the ethnic groups. During such tumultuous time in Myanmar, what if the entire border area along the Salween River through to Ranong falls under control of the various ethnic groups? The Thai government must revisit our position. It might not mean we have to return to the buffer state strategy in the past. But we do have to forge good relations with the ethnic groups which are occupying the area along the border with Thailand” said Prof. Surachart.

Meanwhile, Mr. Surapong Kongchantuk, President of Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), has said in an interview about the armed conflict along the Moei River in Mae Sot -Myawaddy that the migration this time is different from the past. In the past, they came here for a couple of days, and left. But given the sheer violent conflict there, the villagers may have to linger in Thailand longer and it is incumbent on the government to come up with a good response. 

Mr. Surapong said that the asylum seekers this time including the newly arrivals and those who used to come here. Some have migrated to inner area like Samut Sakhon. Right now, he observers that there are many migrant children in Samut Sakhon. Still, Thailand has not prepared anything in response to this. The situation in the past three or four months has got much worse and it has sent an influx of people including thousands of children to certain areas in Samut Sakhon.

“Adults could have gone anywhere for work, but the children, thousands of them, have to stay put. They need an education. How can we respond to this since there are the same number of learning centers? There has not been any response to this. Some Minister said that these people will quickly return like in the past. They won’t, since the situation this time is hugely different” said CrCF’s President. 

Asked about the response from the state, Mr. Surapong said that the state has to accept that the armed conflict in Myanmar will likely escalate and there shall be no peace soon. The state has to come to terms with the fact that there are now hundreds of thousands of them here, and what should we respond? They cannot simply say that we have prepared facilities which can accommodate tens of thousands of people, which is not true anyway. To accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, we need to divide them up into different groups. Thos who definitely have to remain in Thailand for three or four years, hundreds of thousands of them, how can we accommodate them?  At present, they should be able to get registered since the registration would tell us who they area, and where they live, and whether they have landed a job or not?

“Most importantly, the state must come to terms with the reality since if we deny such reality, we will have no correct information in hand. Without correct information, these people will never get taken care of and they will become problem for our country” said Mr. Surapong.

Asked if the state should adopt more streamlined policies since until now public authorities tend to adhere to incoherent policies causing the deportation of children to Myanmar, Mr. Surapong said that our education policy clearly stipulates that every child can go to school. There are laws and notifications by the Ministry of Education in 2005 about “Education for All”, albeit the implementation might be lacking. This has given rise to the problem that Myanmar children have been removed from some Thai schools and deported. Such situation should never happen again. 

Asked about the visit by the PM to Mae Sot, Mr. Surapong said that the PM should get to see the overall picture and comprehend all aspects that reflect the true situation. If he harbors any misunderstanding, it would leader to a wrong solution. In terms of national security, we can start documenting these people to ensure their traceability and they have their identification papers.

“The economic issue is also important. Our border trade will flourish once peace can be established. Therefore, Thailand must get involved to facilitate the effort to bring about peace in Myanmar. This is not an interference with internal affairs. Nowadays, we still refuse to take the lead and often leave everything on ASEAN, even though Thailand shares the longest border with Myanmar and we stand to bear the biggest impact. To serve our public interest, the state must dare to come out to facilitate the effort to ensure peace in Myanmar”, said Mr. Surapong.

Meanwhile, in the same morning, nearly 3,000 asylum seekers have fled from armed conflict in Myanmar’s Myawaddy in Tak’s Mae Sot District since 20 April, due to clashes between the combined forces of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)/KNU and the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), and the Myanmar Army at the checkpoint of at the 2nd Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge. This morning, due to a lack of armed clashes, most of the asylum seekers have returned to their home across the Moei River since they are concerned about their properties and family members who still remain in Myawaddy. Meanwhile more than 550 asylum seekers previously accommodated in two temporary shelters have crossed at the 25th trade checkpoint which is a cargo crossing along the Moei River back to their homes.  There remain more than 700 of them in Mae Sot at Rujjira sand dredging harbor and the 35th checkpoint. 

———

 This is a translation of original Thai-language report https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=38214

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