PHUKET: Thailand's commitment of seven warships and four helicopters to search and rescue operations for South East Asia's boatpeople began at Phuket's deep sea port today.
The frigate HTMS Saiburi will help patrol 600 kilometres of coastline, centring on Phuket, the Commander of the Royal Thai Navy 3, Vice Admiral Saiyan Prasongsomret, said today.
The largest of the vessels, the 4.9-billion-baht HTMS Ang Thong, will serve as a ''floating base with medics and police'' on board once it returns from Singapore, the vice admiral said.
Four helicopters will also be involved if needed for ill boatpeople. The frigate and the Ang Thong both had landing space for helicopters.
US help was not required because the Royal Thai Navy was capable of mounting the operation, he said.
The Navy had found no signs of up to 3500 people reported to still be on the Andaman Sea.
Boatloads of Rohingya and Bangladeshis have been brought to shore in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia this month.
But the vice admiral said that before the Navy encountered a vessel carrying about 450 passengers off Satun province earlier this month, there had previously only been recent encounters with one vessel containing 250 people in December and another loaded with 150 passengers in February.
Both vessels were ''helped on'' to their preferred destination and any other vessels encountered in the search zone, extending 12 miles out to sea in Thai waters and another 12 miles into international waters, will also be ''helped on.''
Another 106 boatpeople were dumped by traffickers on Surin island a short time back and brought to the Thai mainland.
The discovery of graves around secret jungle camps in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, and along the border with Malaysia has been followed this week by the revelation of more camps and 139 graves near camps on the Malaysian side of the border.
Officials from 17 countries are due to meet in Bangkok on Friday to try to formulate a regional policy towards the issue of unwanted migration by sea by people from Bangladesh and Rohingya from Rakhine state in Burma (Myanmar.)
The frigate HTMS Saiburi will help patrol 600 kilometres of coastline, centring on Phuket, the Commander of the Royal Thai Navy 3, Vice Admiral Saiyan Prasongsomret, said today.
The largest of the vessels, the 4.9-billion-baht HTMS Ang Thong, will serve as a ''floating base with medics and police'' on board once it returns from Singapore, the vice admiral said.
Four helicopters will also be involved if needed for ill boatpeople. The frigate and the Ang Thong both had landing space for helicopters.
US help was not required because the Royal Thai Navy was capable of mounting the operation, he said.
The Navy had found no signs of up to 3500 people reported to still be on the Andaman Sea.
Boatloads of Rohingya and Bangladeshis have been brought to shore in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia this month.
But the vice admiral said that before the Navy encountered a vessel carrying about 450 passengers off Satun province earlier this month, there had previously only been recent encounters with one vessel containing 250 people in December and another loaded with 150 passengers in February.
Both vessels were ''helped on'' to their preferred destination and any other vessels encountered in the search zone, extending 12 miles out to sea in Thai waters and another 12 miles into international waters, will also be ''helped on.''
Another 106 boatpeople were dumped by traffickers on Surin island a short time back and brought to the Thai mainland.
The discovery of graves around secret jungle camps in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, and along the border with Malaysia has been followed this week by the revelation of more camps and 139 graves near camps on the Malaysian side of the border.
Officials from 17 countries are due to meet in Bangkok on Friday to try to formulate a regional policy towards the issue of unwanted migration by sea by people from Bangladesh and Rohingya from Rakhine state in Burma (Myanmar.)
A very good use of the resources of the Royal Thai Navy.
Posted by Ian Yarwood on May 26, 2015 12:26