BANGKOK: Thailand plans to send a minister to Myanmar to investigate suspected mining sites blamed for contaminating rivers that flow across the border as it steps up efforts to trace pollution that has threatened drinking water and farmland.
The environment ministers of both countries are likely to visit affected areas and examine possible sources of contamination in the Kok and Sai rivers, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said late Thursday (Nov 12) after meeting with Myanmar officials. The trip has yet to be scheduled.
Thailand and Myanmar also agreed to send senior officials on a joint field visit and brought forward a meeting of their water-quality working group to Nov. 25-26. Officials will consider installing monitoring stations near suspected mining sites in Myanmar’s Shan State.
The push follows elevated arsenic readings in rivers flowing from Myanmar into northern Thailand. Earlier this month, arsenic in untreated water from the Sai was measured at as much as 30 times Thailand’s surface-water standard during a disruption to drinking-water supplies. Thai authorities haven’t traced the contamination to a specific mine.
Mining can expose naturally occurring arsenic in rock and waste, allowing it to leach or wash into nearby waterways. Long-term exposure to arsenic-contaminated water can cause serious health problems, including an increased risk of cancer.
Sihasak described the worsening pollution as "a very urgent problem” and said monitoring water quality alone wasn’t enough. "We have to address the root of the problem,” he said.
The issue is complicated by the location of some suspected mines in territory controlled by the United Wa State Army, an ethnic armed group that operates autonomously from Myanmar’s central government. Environmental groups have alleged that Chinese companies are involved in mining in Shan State.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday she wasn’t familiar with the allegations, but that Beijing requires Chinese companies to protect the environment and is ready to cooperate with Thailand and other countries in the region on water pollution.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul discussed the pollution during talks in Bangkok on Friday. The two governments agreed to establish a laboratory in northern Thailand to test for contaminants, with China providing technical and academic support.
Sihasak said the effort should also trace minerals imported into Thailand back to their mines, potentially broadening the investigation from water contamination to regional mineral supply chains.
Myanmar ties
The pollution was one of several cross-border issues Sihasak raised during meetings Thursday with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe and Defense Minister Yar Pyae.
Thailand also sought assurances after fighting inside Myanmar injured Thai residents and damaged property across the border. The two sides plan a special meeting of regional military commanders to discuss measures including a possible safe zone and better advance warning of operations that could affect Thailand.
Sihasak also offered to host talks between Myanmar’s government and ethnic opposition groups along the border. Myanmar agreed in principle to send a delegation if Thailand arranges the discussions, he said.
Asked about detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Sihasak said Thailand wanted to see progress on political dialogue, reduced violence and humanitarian access. Any further progress concerning Suu Kyi "would be most welcomed,” he said.
Min Aung Hlaing told Sihasak that Myanmar wants to re-engage with the Asean. Thailand supports allowing Myanmar’s foreign minister to attend regional ministerial meetings, arguing that direct contact would give the bloc greater access to decision-makers in Naypyidaw.
Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry separately said in a statement Friday that Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe thanked Thailand for helping facilitate the country’s return to its "original role” in Asean.
Sihasak said any deeper engagement should accompany progress toward reducing violence, improving humanitarian access and advancing political dialogue. - Bloomberg
