Thai-MECC denies closing Gulf of Thailand to foreign fleets
Thai-MECC says it has not shut sea routes in the Gulf of Thailand to foreign vessels, but has barred Thai boats from entering Cambodian waters and is seeking NSC backing to tighten measures against oil and weapons smuggling.
The Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center (Thai-MECC) insisted on Tuesday that it had not taken action to close sea routes in the Gulf of Thailand to foreign vessels.
Royal Thai Navy chief of staff Admiral Thadavuth Thadpithakkul, who is also secretary-general of Thai-MECC, said the agency had only prohibited Thai vessels and Thai fishing boats from entering Cambodia’s territorial waters, as the area was considered dangerous for Thai boats.
Thai-MECC is the central agency responsible for safeguarding Thailand’s national maritime interests. Its primary goal is to co-ordinate the operations of various government agencies involved in maritime security and the suppression of maritime threats under a single command post. Thai-MECC’s mandate covers a wide range of activities to protect Thailand’s maritime interests, including those related to merchant shipping, fisheries, tourism, resource exploration and environmental preservation.
The measure was also aimed at preventing Thai-owned vessels from being used to smuggle oil and weapons to Cambodia, which could be used in fighting against Thailand.
Thadavuth was speaking to reporters before attending a National Security Council (NSC) meeting, during which he planned to seek the council’s approval for Thai-MECC to step up measures to prevent the smuggling of oil and weapons to Cambodia.
He said the measure would be enforced only on shipping lines owned by Thais. He added that Thai-MECC had yet to verify reports that Thai vessels had transported oil from third countries to Cambodia.
“I hereby affirm that we didn’t close the Gulf of Thailand as earlier reported. We simply took measures to ensure safety and the efficiency of our operations,” Thadavuth said.
He asked reporters to wait until after the NSC meeting, when he would clarify reports that Thai vessels were still shipping oil to Cambodia.
He said he could not yet say how long the measures to prevent Thai vessels from shipping oil and weapons to Cambodia would remain in place. “I can’t say yet. It depends on the situation.”
