Thailand yesterday officially protested an incident in which Myanmar’s navy fired on a group of Thai fishing vessels close to their shared maritime border, killing one fisherman and injuring two others.
In a statement on Saturday, Thailand’s Ministry of Defense said that a Myanmar vessel fired at two Thai fishing vessels while they were operating 4-5.7 nautical miles (7.4-10.6 kilometers) inside Myanmar’s territorial waters. The encounter took place close to the province of Ranong on the southernmost tip of Myanmar on Thailand’s Andaman Sea coast.
Three fishermen jumped into the water during the incident, one of whom drowned while two were rescued by the Thai navy, ministry spokesperson Thanatip Sawangsang said.
One of the boats was detained by Myanmar’s navy during the encounter, with 31 crewmembers aboard, including four Thais and 27 Burmese.
When asked by reporters whether Thai fishing boats encroached on Myanmar’s territorial waters, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said yesterday that it was “inconclusive,” but that “we don’t support violence whatever the circumstances,” Reuters reported.
She added that Thailand was seeking more details on the incident and a quick release of the four Thai nationals.
Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who earlier described the incident as “just a warning shot,” said that his ministry had sent a letter protesting the use of force to Myanmar’s military junta, demanding clarification of the incident and a quick return of the Thai boat and crew detained. Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa also sent a letter of concern over the incident and had summoned the Myanmar ambassador for a meeting today.
According to a Thai media report, which cited local authorities, the Thai fishing boats were fishing around 20 kilometers west of Koh Phayam at the time that they were approached by the Myanmar Navy. They then attempted to escape by cutting their nets and accelerating their engines.
The Nation cited local authorities who said that two Thai fishing boats were towed into Myanmar waters, rather than one, while two crew members from a third vessel sustained injuries: one from the Myanmar Navy’s gunfire and another from an electric shock. Vice Admiral Suwat Donsakul of the Royal Thai Navy told the Bangkok Post that Thai boats often operate in Myanmar waters, where fish stocks are more abundant.
Whatever the specifics, the fact that the Myanmar Navy chose to take such a confrontational and seemingly disproportional course of action is certainly not in the spirit of the friendly relations between the Thai and Myanmar militaries – relations that long predate the coup of February 2021, and which are renewed by regular meetings between senior officers from the two sides.
As it turns out, the naval incident is just one of many recent examples of how Thailand has experienced the backwash from Myanmar’s internal ructions. In 2022, for instance, a Myanmar fighter jet trespassed into Thai airspace while hunting down resistance fighters, prompting Thailand to scramble two F-16 fighter jets in response. Large numbers of Myanmar refugees have continued to cross the Thai border, fleeing military offensives inside the country.
Last week also brought news of growing tensions on the land border between the two countries, after the Thai military requested that the United Wa State Army (UWSA) withdraw from nine locations along a disputed part of the border in Mae Hong Son province.
The UWSA, perhaps Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed group, which controls two extensive territories inside Myanmar’s Shan State, has refused to pull out from its positions along the border. The Thai military has downplayed the situation in Mae Hong Son, saying that the “overall border situation was normal.”