[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Navy vows protection




Politics 
Navy vows protection
THE Thai Navy vowed on Monday to make every effort to protect Thai vessels
doing legitimate business in Thai maritime zones. 
Officials of both countries are in discussions aimed at preventing any
re-occurrence of a series of clashes between the Thai navy and Burmese
vessels.

''As the agency responsible for protecting our national interest at sea, the
Navy will do its best to protect Thai ships doing legitimate business there,''
the Navy said in a statement issued on Monday. 
The statement came after a Thai vessel, Tuangsap 9, radioed the Chao Phraya
naval ship on Saturday that it was being attacked off Ranong province near
Chang island by two armed Burmese vessels. 
One of the Burmese ships belonged to the Burmese Navy, according to the Thai
Navy statement. 
The Thai naval vessel and two other commissioned boats rushed to the scene,
which was inside Thai territory, where they were confronted by the Burmese
ships. Both sides then sailed along the boundary for a period before
departing.

The statement said the Thai Navy then escorted the Tuangsap 9 to shore. 
Thai and Burmese vessels have in past years been involved in a series of
clashes at sea, mainly due to unclear maritime zones. 
In several cases, however, Thai fishing boats were found to be poaching in
Burmese waters. 
Meanwhile, Thailand will urge Burma to seek ''interim measures'' to prevent
potential violence in the disputed maritime area during an upcoming meeting of
the Regional Border Committee (RBC), said Kitti Wasinondh, deputy spokesman
for
the Foreign Ministry. 
He said both countries should implement temporary measures to prevent
outbreaks
of violence similar to earlier ones, including the Saturday incident. 
Kitti said although there was no violence involved in the latest incident, the
two sides should prevent possible future confrontations from occurring. 
''Thai and Burmese officials will discuss the issue at the RBC meeting in
March. We should seek interim measures to avoid future confrontations,'' he
said. 
The Nation