BANGKOK: The caretaker defence minister has vowed that Thai soldiers will open fire on Cambodian troops caught planting bomb traps on Thai soil. He also assured the public that Thailand’s political uncertainty would not weaken border security.
Gen Nattapon Narkphanit (pic), caretaker deputy defence minister who is also acting as caretaker defence minister, said he had received a Royal Thai Army (RTA) report confirming that a makeshift bomb trap, fashioned from a mortar shell, was discovered near Prasat Ta Kwai in Surin on Sunday (Aug 31).
According to him, evidence indicated the device was laid by Cambodian troops.
Nattapon criticised Cambodia’s approach, saying that although Phnom Penh called for peace talks, its troops frequently acted provocatively by laying landmines and bomb traps.
He said he had instructed the RTA to file a formal protest through the Foreign Ministry and ordered tighter patrols along the border. Cambodian soldiers spotted planting explosives, he stressed, could be “eliminated immediately.”
“As I have said earlier, if they cross the border to lay landmines, only their souls will return home,” Nattapon warned.
The minister stressed that despite the ongoing political crisis, Thailand’s border defence remained intact. Under the Defence Ministry Administration Act, the chief of defence and the commanders-in-chief of the three armed forces retain full authority to deploy military power in defence of national territory.
“So, the people don’t have to be worried,” he said.
Thailand’s political landscape has been unsettled since the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Friday, placing her Cabinet in caretaker status. Rival parties Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai are now locked in negotiations to form the next government.
During this period of political transition, security concerns have also risen in Thailand’s southern border provinces. Nattapon confirmed that insurgent groups had intensified attacks to coincide with Malaysia’s Hari Merdeka, marking the country’s independence from Britain on Aug 31, 1957. - The Nation/ANN
