The recent arrest and sentencing of four Thai fishermen in Myanmar has heightened tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbors and some analysts told VOA the move was aimed at gaining legitimacy and recognition ahead of high-level government meetings in Bangkok this week. Is.
Earlier this week, a Myanmar court in Kawthaung sentenced the owner of a seized fishing vessel to six years in prison, and three other fishermen received four years in prison.
The sentencing comes as Thailand’s Foreign Ministry continues negotiations for his release and high-level government meetings in Bangkok focus on Myanmar.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, told VOA that it is clear Myanmar is using the fishermen to leverage its interests.
Thitinan said, “The detention of the Thai fisherman is designed to gain influence over the Thai government in exchange for greater official involvement and recognition of the State Administration Council.” The State Administration Council, or SAC, is the official name of Myanmar’s military-led government.
“It makes Thailand look a bit weak. This has been going on for some time, this is certainly not the first time, but suddenly it has become a complex issue,” Thitinan said.
Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who focuses on the politics of Southeast Asia, agrees.
“I think the generals, in their Neanderthal-ish way, are using them to maintain Thailand’s full support,” he said, adding that if they detain the fishermen for too long it could backfire. There is a danger of falling. “The Thai government is as supportive of the junta as possible, but there will be a public reaction at some point.”
Myanmar’s military-led government has said little about the fishermen’s punishment or when they might be released. VOA contacted SAC for comment but did not receive a response as of press time.
The fishing dispute has long been a point of friction between the two countries, but late last month Myanmar’s navy fired on 15 Thai fishing boats off the west coast of Ranong province in southern Thailand. Both Thai and Myanmar authorities blame each other for the incident.
Dominic Thomson, regional director for Southeast Asia at the Environmental Justice Foundation, says the incident was the first of its kind in a long time.
“There have been no reports of incidents like this since at least 2015,” he told VOA in response to an email earlier this month. “The nature of the incident, coupled with the detention of fishing vessels and crew, is unprecedented. ”
One Thai national drowned during the dispute, while four Thai crew members were detained along with 27 Myanmar nationals. Myanmar authorities also seized a fishing boat Sor Charoenchai 8.
Fast forward two weeks and Bangkok is now hosting two meetings with representatives from Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, India, Laos and Malaysia. The meetings focused on border security, transnational crime, ASEAN and the crisis in Myanmar.
The first meeting took place in Bangkok on Thursday. A meeting focused on ASEAN’s role on the Myanmar crisis is scheduled to be held on Friday.
The recent maritime dispute has heightened bilateral tensions between Thailand and Myanmar’s military government ahead of the meetings.
Nearly four years after Min Aung Hlaing and his troops staged a coup that ousted the democratically elected government in February 2021, Myanmar remains in a state of nationwide conflict.
Over the past year, the junta has been losing territory, with a coalition of pro-democracy and ethnic armed groups seeking to defeat the military regime. More than 60% of Myanmar is not under the control of the military.
At the same time, pressure is increasing on Myanmar to end violence and hold elections next year.
Thitinan says it is “problematic” for Thailand to engage the Myanmar junta in such a high-level manner and that it is no surprise that Myanmar’s military is dragging up the fishermen issue.
“The question is why Thailand is suddenly succumbing to this demand and profit [State Administration Council]SAC is working hard here to gain recognition for legitimacy and Thailand is also playing along with it,” he said. It is not surprising that the fisherman’s case is dragging on, SAC will drag it out and take advantage of it. This is surprising because in the medium term it is harmful. “Including SAC is very problematic because they are losing the civil war, and the future of Myanmar is not in SAC’s favor,” he said.
For their part, Thai authorities have tried to downplay the incident. Thai Prime Minister Patongtarn Shinawatra says relations between Myanmar and Thailand remain strong, adding that the four fishermen will be released on January 4. If that happens, it will be exactly five weeks since they were detained .
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikornadze Balankura, speaking on behalf of Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, said the issue of fishermen had already been discussed between the two countries at Thursday’s meeting.
“Our Thai Foreign Minister also had the opportunity to have a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Myanmar. They discussed major issues such as the case of the four Thai fishermen,” Nikornadze told a news conference.
“The Thai Foreign Minister has received official assurance from Myanmar that all four Thai nationals will be released soon. Both countries will cooperate in promoting understanding and preventing recurrence of issues of similar nature,” he said.
However, Thitinan believes that the Bangkok meetings may not be the end of the issue.
“I would not be surprised if Thai Foreign Minister Maris visits Naypyitaw next week or in the coming days to resolve this issue,” he said.