Supplies on hold: Trucks carrying petrol stuck at Chong Mek checkpoint on the Thailand-Laos border in Ubon Ratchathani province. — Reuters
The Thai military said that it has stopped fuel shipments passing through a border checkpoint with Laos because of fears they were being diverted to Cambodia, with which it is fighting a fierce border conflict.
The Thai and Cambodian militaries are clashing at multiple locations along their 817km land border, both sides said, with no signs of the fighting abating despite international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, including calls by US President Donald Trump.
A special meeting of South-East Asian foreign ministers – where top diplomats from both sides could have met – that was scheduled to take place today had been pushed back to Dec 22 at Thailand’s request, the Malaysian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Thailand’s military has restricted the movement of all fuel supplies through the Chong Mek border crossing into Laos after receiving intelligence that these were being routed to Cambodian troops, said Thai defence ministry spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri.
“Our intention is not to cause impacts on the Lao people or government,” he said at a press conference.
The military is also considering limiting the movement of Thai vessels into “high-risk areas” in Cambodian waters where they could be fired upon, a navy official said, adding that any such measures would not impact shipments from other countries.
A sizeable portion of Cambodia’s refined fuel imports such as gasoline, gas oil and jet fuel comes via the sea route, according to multiple trade sources, though an exact percentage of market share could not be confirmed.
Singapore is currently the largest supplier of these fuels to Cambodia, Kpler ship-tracking data showed, with volumes so far this year totalling around 915,000 metric tonnes.
Volumes from Thailand have fallen to around 30,000 tonnes this year, from less than 180,000 tonnes last year, the data showed.
In a statement issued on Friday, Thailand’s energy ministry said there had been no exports of oil to Cambodia after July. — Reuters
