TRAFFICKING A PRIORITY CONCERN FOR THAI SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANGKOK 001268 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019 TAGS: PGOV SNAR TH SUBJECT: TRAFFICKING A PRIORITY CONCERN FOR THAI SECURITY OFFICIALS ALONG THE MEKHONG Classified By: Political Counselor George P. Kent, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY AND COMMENT -------------- ¶1. (C) During a recent trip to Northeast Thailand, security officials along the border with Laos emphasized to us concerns regarding illegal smuggling as cross-border trade and travel have increased. Officials were particularly worried about movements of people and goods through the Northeast due better developed transportation routes from Vietnam and China. Cooperation between civilian law enforcement and the military to combat illegal smuggling appeared good as local officials described joint patrols and effective organizational structures. End Summary and Comment. CLOSE COOPERATION BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MILITARY -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) During a recent trip through Northeast Thailand, PolOff, EXBS Advisor, and Pol LES met with security officials in Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, and Mukdahan provinces to discuss perspectives regarding security issues along the Thai border with Laos. In Nong Khai Province, we visited the first Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge and met members of the Thai government's Border Control Cooperation Unit, an organization led by the Nong Khai Governor, and comprised of representatives from the Army, Navy, Police, Customs, Immigration Department, Office of Narcotics Control Board, and the Marine Police. Thai Customs officials said cross-border trade with Laos had boomed in recent years. Approximately 4,500 trucks and 200,000 people passed over the bridge every month. Thai Immigration Department officials told us that they believed a majority of the Lao economy depended on trade with Thailand and remittances from Lao citizens working in Thailand. As such, they believed Thailand to be more important to Laos than China. ¶3. (C) Members of the Border Patrol Police (BPP) described narcotics smuggling as their primary concern, particularly shipments of methamphetamines, but that other problems included economic migrants, logging, intellectual property rights, and arms and vehicle smuggling. The BPP said enforcement activities were closely coordinated with the Thai military. (Note: The RTG maintains martial law in districts located on Thailand's border so that the military can assist local law enforcement on matters such as these. End note.) Enforcement was challenging for the BPP due to a porous border and familial ties between Thais and Laos in this area that led to frequent movements across the border. ¶4. (C) Coordination among the various RTG agencies in Nong Khai appeared good. The BPP described for us procedures for joint patrols with the Marine Police. Nong Khai Mayor Songpol Kowitsirikun told us separately that interagency cooperation was good with both law enforcement and the military focused on border security issues such as narcotics and human trafficking. While cooperation was good, Songpol told us that the police were unreliable and more concerned with maintaining relations with whoever was in the ruling party of the government than with strict enforcement of laws. With the provincial border with Laos measuring approximately 300 kilometers, trafficking was an ongoing concern, Songpol said. NAKHON PHANOM OFFICIALS PERCEIVE INCREASED TRAFFICKING -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Tracking the Mekong River to the south, we met in Nakhon Phanom province with the Customs and Immigration Officials and the Mekong Riverine Unit which is headquartered in the Nakhon Phanom. Rear Admiral Adungsawat Poompoung, commander of the Riverine Unit, told us that local security officials assessed drug trafficking to be on the rise but that the trend had been difficult to counter because the Thai Navy had limited budget and the local Army commander controlled resources and policy through the Internal Security Operations Command. As an example of the challenges, Adungsawat said the Riverine Unit used patrol boats that were built approximately forty years ago. The difficulty in patrolling the more than 900 kilometers of Thailand's borders with Laos and Burma was compounded by the Riverine Unit having only 700 personnel. INCREASED TRADE THROUGH THE NORTHEAST -------------- ¶6. (C) Adungsawat and Amara Balajiva, Director of the Nakhon Phanom Customs House, told us that northeastern Thailand has seen a significant increase in trade, with many commodities transiting through Thailand from China, Laos, and Vietnam to Malaysia and Singapore. Economic migrants from Laos commonly passed through Nakhon Phanom on their way to other locations in Thailand as well as Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, Amara said that drug trafficking was a sensitive issue for the Lao government, and Thai law enforcement officials were hesitant to raise the issue directly with their cross-border counterparts. ¶7. (C) In Mukdahan, we met with Customs and Immigration officials who told us the 2007 opening of the second Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge had greatly increased their workload and that their organizations were occupied with adjusting to increasing volumes of trade and larger numbers of people crossing the border. They also told us that many commodities transited Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore from destinations in China, Laos, and particularly Vietnam, since Mukdahan was on the closest route by land to Vietnam. Similarly, economic migrants had become an issue as Lao commonly passed through Nakhon Phanom on their way to Malaysia and Singapore to look for work. JOHN