Energy Ministry, military step up fuel export checks to stop Cambodia smuggling
Authorities have expanded monitoring beyond land routes, adding stricter checks on sea shipments to block fuel exports through alternative channels.
- Thailand's Energy Ministry is investigating fuel exports to Laos over concerns they are being illegally diverted and smuggled to Cambodia.
- Authorities have intensified checks at land border checkpoints along the Thailand-Laos border by reviewing export volumes and routes.
- The stricter controls have been extended to sea routes to ensure all potential smuggling channels are monitored.
- The ministry is coordinating with the military and fuel traders to enforce the new measures in the interest of national security.
Veerapat Kiatfuengfoo, deputy permanent secretary at the Energy Ministry and the ministry's spokesperson, said on Monday (December 15) the Energy Ministry is urgently verifying reports about fuel exports through the Chong Mek border checkpoint in Sirindhorn district, Ubon Ratchathani, to Laos, amid concerns the fuel could be diverted onward to Cambodia.
He said the Ministry, through the Department of Energy Business, is conducting a detailed fact-check, including comparisons of past and current export volumes as well as a review of export routes.
The ministry has also instructed all fuel traders to strictly comply with measures banning fuel exports at all checkpoints along the Thailand–Laos border, where shipments could potentially be forwarded to Cambodia.
As for images showing fuel trucks stranded along the border, Veerapat said this was a result of the tougher export controls.
He said authorities are managing the situation and coordinating with fuel traders to verify transport routes, stressing that the fuel must be delivered only to the specified destinations in Laos.
In addition to land-based controls, the Department has stepped up monitoring to prevent fuel exports by sea, aiming to ensure restrictions cover all possible channels.
Veerapat said the ministry will continue enforcing related measures in line with national security policy to maintain peace and safeguard Thai citizens.
He added that the ministry has long instructed fuel traders and carried out strict inspections of fuel exports by both land and sea to Cambodia, to prevent any risks to national security.
The Department, he said, has further tightened oversight of fuel exports passing through checkpoints along the Thailand–Laos border, insisting there must be no unusually large export volumes.
The department will also act as a coordinating body among fuel traders to ensure compliance with the military’s preventive measures, prioritising the national interest and public safety.
