PUBLISHED: 9 Dec 2024 at 04: 30
Local anglers are organizing now at Ranong Provincial Hall to demand the release of the four Thai fishermen detained in Myanmar following an incident last week in a tense maritime place off the Ranong coastline.
The Thai crew, along with 27 other crewmembers from Myanmar, were aboard the trawler Sor Charoenchai 8, when they were ambushed by a Myanmar navy vessel about 12 nautical miles ( 22 kilometres ) off the coast of Koh Phayam.
Following the incident on November 30th, Myanmar officials seized the boat and held the 31 men hostage.
The people have been moved to a detention center in Kawthaung, which is located across the frontier from Ranong, according to recent reports from local resources.
The people are still being held by Myanmar authorities in the presence of their respective countries, despite earlier promises that the four Thai crew members would remain released by December 6.
A group of fishermen from Ranong, Chumphon, and Phangna announced their protest plan in front of Ranong Provincial Hall, urging Myanmar authorities, particularly the Thai-Myanmar Township Border Committee ( TBC ), to demand immediate release of the Thai crewmembers.
The ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs, along with the Royal Thai Navy, really hit their counterparts for an immediate alternative, they said, adding that the transfer of the seamen did not occur as promised by Myanmar regulators.
Local officials have requested a meeting with the crew members at the detention facility, according to a cause, and Thai officials are preparing to move forward with the situation. Prior to the release of crew members, related incidents in the past required lengthy legal proceedings.
According to the cause, a recent report suggested the incident occurred in an un-delineated maritime region between Myanmar and Thailand’s Koh Lam, Koh Khan, and Koh Khinok, which are both claimed by both of these regions.
The Fisheries Monitoring Center ( FMC) mandates that all Thai fishing boats have a vessel monitoring system (VMS ) in place, in accordance with FMC regulations. The cause continued,” So the Thai fisherman must have been aware of its exact area during the incident.”
” Nevertheless, if the incident actually took place in the contested area, the query that needs to be answered is, why was the Thai Navy allowed to allow its counterpart in Myanmar to effectively state the region”?