Myanmar navy shoots, seizes Thai trawler

[Lite Beer]

Myanmar navy shoots, seizes Thai trawler
By English News

BANGKOK, Sept 21 -- Myanmar navy has fired upon and seized a Thai trawler that was fishing at Khom island in Ranong, according to the Thai-Myanmar Border Fishery Coordination Centre.

A staff of centre said that a fishing boat named "Tor Taweesin 3" with a crew of ten and one captain was fishing at Khom island, two nautical miles from Ranong's Chang island and was shot at by a Myanmar navy ship.

The ship's crew jumped into the sea as the trawler was seized by Myanmar authorities.

The area was considered an overlapping controversial zone between Thailand and Myanmar.

The Centre has coordinate with the Royal Thai Navy and fellow trawlers to help crew members. However they could not find the boat's captain, identified as Kayoo Suksawat.

The fishing boat was reportedly under control of the Myanmar navy at Kaw Thaung or Ko Song. The Thai authorities were coordinating with their Myanmar counterparts for the return of the ship.

Ranong Fishery Association chairman Surin Losong, who is also the owner of the trawler, said he was confident that his boat was not fishing in Myanmar territory.

Meanwhile, Wipan Chamachote, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Navy said that there was no one injured or killed from the incident.

He said the captain was safe, as he stayed on-board while the ship was seized.

Capt Wipan said the 3rd Naval Area Command has lodged a protest to Myanmar for the incident and the Thai-Myanmar General Border Committee (GBC) officials were holding talks.

He said the situation was not tense as Thailand and Myanmar enjoyed good relations. It was believed that both sides could find a common solution. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-09-21

[clockman]

Loss of face! good relations?

[bigbamboo]

I fancy the captain will be looking for a new crew a.s.a.p.

[123thaibourbon]

hope Captain Kayoo Suksawat is alright. is all this proper maritime protocol? the credence of ASEAN is so frail at a time when united strength is needed more than ever.

[seajae]

come on guys, we all know that thai fishing boats fish where ever they want, just look at them all doing so in protected waters. This is just another example of a thai captain that thinks he can fish where ever he wants to and does not respect anyone elses borders, hopefully they will do something to the boat/captain so it doesnt keep happening, these people need to learn there are rules that need to be followed.

[AleG]

The Thai Navy should shoot at and seize a few Thai trawlers within their own waters too, they operate inside national parks and protected areas with (paid for) impunity.

[Spalpeen]

The Thai Navy should shoot at and seize a few Thai trawlers within their own waters too, they operate inside national parks and protected areas with (paid for) impunity.

This is the real issue. Thai trawlers operate freely inside Thai marine national parks and for anyone who goes diving the effects on fish stocks are clear to see.

[ratcatcher]

I fancy the captain will be looking for a new crew a.s.a.p.

I wonder how many of his crew were Burmese? Cheap slave labour.

[yougivemebaby]

Wow a little trigger happy navy? No warnings? Just fire upon site? Shoot first ask later. Like the wild wild west

[teetersb]

I fancy the captain will be looking for a new crew a.s.a.p.

I wonder how many of his crew were Burmese? Cheap slave labour.

The Other paper said the Myanmar crew were told to jump ship by the Captain. The crew may have been a contributing factor in this debacle.

[cloudhopper]

come on guys, we all know that thai fishing boats fish where ever they want, just look at them all doing so in protected waters. This is just another example of a thai captain that thinks he can fish where ever he wants to and does not respect anyone elses borders, hopefully they will do something to the boat/captain so it doesnt keep happening, these people need to learn there are rules that need to be followed.

Frothy bashing, but speaking of rules; kindly inform yourself:

The article says:

a fishing boat was fishing at Khom island, two nautical miles from Ranong's Chang island and was shot at by a Myanmar navy ship

Whereas the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea says:

A state's territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from its baseline.

Well wherever the boat was actually seized, the Myanmar navy was patrolling unchallenged. One would think the Thai government would not tolerate a Myanmar naval vessel firing upon and seizing a Thai flagged vessel in Thai waters.

Edited September 21, 2013 by cloudhopper

[NongKhaiKid]

Will we hear from the PM / Defence Minister on this incident or will she be too busy with more important matters ?

What a stupid question and rhetorical of course.

[TackyToo]

Didn't they knew they shoot at their own enslaved people???

[Totster]

Wow a little trigger happy navy? No warnings? Just fire upon site? Shoot first ask later. Like the wild wild west

Where does it say that ?

totster

[12DrinkMore]

I hope the poor buggers can swim.

2 nautical miles, around 4 kms, in the monsoon period and around moon so strong currents to deal with as well, is not an easy prospect.

[spidermike007]

From what I hear, from friends who live and work in Burma, and also from my few Burmese friend, nothing has really changed in Burma (I refuse to call it Myanmar, as I feel that is a nod of respect to the generals who still run the country). The top 20-40 generals are all billionaires, making a fortune on heroin and gem sales. The power elite still run the country with an iron fist. From what I have been told, the easing was all about the Chinese mining firms talking the generals into a show, so that the US and Europe would ease sanctions, making it easier for the pig generals to get materials, and equipment to their Chinese investors, who run copper mines, and pay their employees a dollar or two a day for excruciating hours of work in ball breaking conditions. So, what has really changed, besides a few prisoners being released?

[Suffinator]

It's more than plausible that most of the fisherman on-board where Myanmar slaves -

US Government Urging Thailand to Stamp Out Slavery at Sea

[Bagwan]

The Thai Navy should shoot at and seize a few Thai trawlers within their own waters too, they operate inside national parks and protected areas with (paid for) impunity.

Yeah. a sure and proven recipe for peace. Give diplomacy a chance first.

Do you think that the Thai Navy could hit anything if it opened fire?

[spidermike007]

come on guys, we all know that thai fishing boats fish where ever they want, just look at them all doing so in protected waters. This is just another example of a thai captain that thinks he can fish where ever he wants to and does not respect anyone elses borders, hopefully they will do something to the boat/captain so it doesnt keep happening, these people need to learn there are rules that need to be followed.

Frothy bashing, but speaking of rules; kindly inform yourself:

The article says:

a fishing boat was fishing at Khom island, two nautical miles from Ranong's Chang island and was shot at by a Myanmar navy ship

Whereas the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea says:

A state's territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from its baseline.

Well wherever the boat was actually seized, the Myanmar navy was patrolling unchallenged. One would think the Thai government would not tolerate a Myanmar naval vessel firing upon and seizing a Thai flagged vessel in Thai waters.

Yes, one would think. But, there are always so many considerations with something like this. In this case, Thailand procures alot of it's natural gas from Burma. So, they would be quite hesitant to rock that boat. Imagine how the Thai people would react to a natural gas shortage. No taxis on the streets? No buses operating. You get the picture. So, much butt kissing of the Burmese pigs (the generals) continues, in order to not upset anything. Yes, this incident is bizarre and extreme. And my guess is that the Burmese boat captain has already been quietly executed, behind the scenes. As I said in the previous post, nothing has really changed in Burma. Do not believe the hype, which is entirely about benefitting the Chinese investors.

[klauskunkel]

That's why the Thai navy needs a submarine so baaadly!

[bangon04]

come on guys, we all know that thai fishing boats fish where ever they want, just look at them all doing so in protected waters. This is just another example of a thai captain that thinks he can fish where ever he wants to and does not respect anyone elses borders, hopefully they will do something to the boat/captain so it doesnt keep happening, these people need to learn there are rules that need to be followed.

Frothy bashing, but speaking of rules; kindly inform yourself:

The article says:

a fishing boat was fishing at Khom island, two nautical miles from Ranong's Chang island and was shot at by a Myanmar navy ship

Whereas the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea says:

A state's territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from its baseline.

Well wherever the boat was actually seized, the Myanmar navy was patrolling unchallenged. One would think the Thai government would not tolerate a Myanmar naval vessel firing upon and seizing a Thai flagged vessel in Thai waters.

Send the Thai aircraft carrier - give them something interesting to shoot at. Hopefully the crew will not jump overboard....

[mayday49]

come on guys, we all know that thai fishing boats fish where ever they want, just look at them all doing so in protected waters. This is just another example of a thai captain that thinks he can fish where ever he wants to and does not respect anyone elses borders, hopefully they will do something to the boat/captain so it doesnt keep happening, these people need to learn there are rules that need to be followed.

I hope you have toilet Paper ...

[stickylies]

there is no *real* central military control in myanmar. groups stationed in the far south do what they want, whenever they want and most of the time they are allies with the thai (read: baht).

i very rarely speculate but this could be a classic case where a thai fisher boat has been fishing in myanmar waters for a longtime (paying myanmar army) and

a/ forgot or refused a payment

or

b/ the corrupt army guys in question got replaced by fresh ones (happens all the time btw) who didn't know about the 'deal' (yet).

Edited September 22, 2013 by stickylies

[Thait Spot]

Still no response from this useless government

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[stickylies]

From what I hear, from friends who live and work in Burma, and also from my few Burmese friend, nothing has really changed in Burma (I refuse to call it Myanmar, as I feel that is a nod of respect to the generals who still run the country). The top 20-40 generals are all billionaires, making a fortune on heroin and gem sales. The power elite still run the country with an iron fist. From what I have been told, the easing was all about the Chinese mining firms talking the generals into a show, so that the US

and Europe would ease sanctions, making it easier for the pig generals to get materials, and equipment to their Chinese investors, who run copper mines, and pay their

employees a dollar or two a day for excruciating hours of work in ball breaking conditions. So, what has really changed, besides a few prisoners being released?

myanmar is indeed a chinese province now. even the deep south is in the hands of the chinese. countless chinese buy ID-cards in Muse (very cheap). once they have a burmese ID-card (it doesn't matter they cannot speak burmese) they can buy land, start firms, etc and even obtain burmese passports. the bamar rulers are masters in divide and rule. they give some to the chinese and then some to USA (off against each other).

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed.

Bet most of the crew were Burmese and Thai Capt did a runner.

From the OP:

He said the captain was safe, as he stayed on-board while the ship was seized.

Perhaps take the time to read the opening posts and comprehend what was posted before making nonsense speculations.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I like how the Thai Navy guy points out that Thailand and Myanmar have "good" relations -- right amid an article about the Myanmar Navy opening fire on a presumably unarmed Thai fishing vessel (even if it was fishing illegally), and how the two have conflicting jurisdictional claims over the area involved.

Hate to see what they'd be doing with easy other if the two countries were on bad terms with each other.

[A1Str8]

One of their boats just got shot at and they say the situation was not tense.

Man, these Thais. Respect for keeping it mai pen rai even if there are bullets flying.

[wolf5370]

Wonder if the trawler captain was trained in Spain!

I would think it was a warning shot, ahead of the stern - otherwise there would not be much of a boat to return. Every now and then the British Navy (RN) has had to fire warning shots at Spanish fisherman for fishing illegally in British waters - even cases where the dopes have tried to ram the navy ships (act of war) to interesting consequences (I remember a report a few years back when after several warnings and two ramming from the Spanish trawler, the RN took out their pilot's cabin with an unarmed shell before towing it into Portsmouth where it sat for several months).

The OP does not mention how many warnings were given, if any, but I suspect there were - it may also have been told previously to leave the area and returned - who knows? Anyone read the Burmese press to see their side?

[shaurene]

come on guys, we all know that thai fishing boats fish where ever they want, just look at them all doing so in protected waters. This is just another example of a thai captain that thinks he can fish where ever he wants to and does not respect anyone elses borders, hopefully they will do something to the boat/captain so it doesnt keep happening, these people need to learn there are rules that need to be followed.

You are a senior member do not have an educational reply. The fishing boasts from every country fish were they think they can get away with it, they are all looking to earn a living. These Asian countries should start to put minimum quotes and size for fish. They do not give a shit if their later generation can have fish.