Thai-Cambodia conflict escalates perilously from land to sea
samlot chit
Thai-Cambodia conflict escalates perilously from land to sea
A Royal Thai Navy vessel opens fire on Cambodia at sea. Image: Facebook / Thai Military ForceBANGKOK – The US-trained Royal Thai Navy on Saturday (December 20) geared up to stop all Thai ships in the Gulf of Thailand transporting fuel and military supplies to Cambodia, the first major use of the artillery-firing navy in the five-month-long border war.
The US Seventh Fleet uses the Gulf of Thailand when its aircraft carriers and other vessels dock near Bangkok at Sattahip port where Thailand’s First Naval Area Command is based to secure the gulf, which is peppered with inhabited Thai and Cambodian islands, navy facilities and oil rigs.
In addition to intercepting Thai ships, including fishing and commercial vessels, the navy said it would stop Thai-owned ships sailing under foreign flags and registrations, if they are suspected of transporting fuel, weapons, ammunition or other military equipment across the gulf to reach Cambodia’s south coast.
Thai shipping companies facilitating their travel, vessels’ owners, suppliers, chandlers and others linked to Thai ships violating the ban would also be held responsible, officials said.
The navy warned shippers about “high-risk zones” in the Gulf of Thailand’s northeast waters, close to southern Cambodia’s beach towns and scattered ports. That coastline is rife with smugglers, human traffickers, fugitives and others illegally using small boats to avoid crossing the nearby Thailand-Cambodian land border.
Thai news reports claim Cambodia has deployed drones to buzz and potentially disrupt or bomb oil platforms in the gulf, including those operated by state-run PTTEP. An industry source told Asia Times that Chevron’s platforms have also reported drone activity over their assets. Reports said the Thai navy has deployed helicopters and ships to protect the platforms.
“The declaration of a high-risk zone is neither a blockade nor a closure of the Gulf,” Navy spokesman Captain Nara Khunthothom said.
“This operation concerns a bilateral conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, and our actions must not impact third countries. We will take all necessary steps to cut off these supplies,” Nara said.
“This is a peaceful approach to restrict Cambodia’s ability to act against Thailand,” Defense Minister General Nattaphon Narkphanich told reporters.
In addition to cargo vessels, passenger ferries and other ships, more than 10,000 fishing boats trawl the Gulf of Thailand’s shallow waters, Nattaphon said.
The National Security Council endorsed the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center (Thai-MECC) to be in charge of stopping the ships. The intercepts include maritime surveillance of cargo including transfers while at sea, plus loading and unloading on land, Thai-MECC spokesman Navy Admiral Jumbol Nakbua said.
Thai geeks, sleuths, shipping experts, military researchers and others have already started tracking suspicious ships in the gulf, and posting their evidence online. Many of them use MarineTraffic.com to determine ships’ locations.