Thai Army to adapt strategy to handle southern insurgency

[webfact]

Army to adapt strategy to handle southern insurgency

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Army commander-in-chief Gen Chalermchai Sithisart voiced concern over the violence in the deep south as southern militants have turned to civilian targets in their terror attacks.

 

He said the militants turned to harm innocent people who included women and children instead of government officials.

 

Comment by the army chief came as the recent bomb attack at Big C Pattani injured over 60 civilians, many of them women and children.

This has prompted the military to alter the strategy and pattern to counter them, he said.

 

He said the Army would seek more talks with its Malaysian counterpart for more cooperation at not only top levels, but those at operational levels.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/army-adapt-strategy-handle-southern-insurgency/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-05-19

[Just1Voice]

Let's see, "New Strategy #5089" now coming into effect.  

[elgordo38]

Alteration of strategy "Take 205" Roll cameras

[wakeupplease]

The only way to beat these murderous stupid people is by communication, its just the same as the original terrorists who even today are a pain and just as stupid as they where 50 years ago. They need to learn those things that go boom kill hurt and mame but most of all the world hates those who do it and will never stand by them.

[lungnorm]

1 hour ago, wakeupplease said:

The only way to beat these murderous stupid people is by communication, its just the same as the original terrorists who even today are a pain and just as stupid as they where 50 years ago. They need to learn those things that go boom kill hurt and mame but most of all the world hates those who do it and will never stand by them.

Beg to differ. They will never listen to any communication. The only solution is to hunt them all down and remove them from any oxygen supply. 

[Srikcir]

On 5/19/2017 at 2:01 PM, webfact said:

the Army would seek more talks with its Malaysian counterpart for more cooperation at not only top levels, but those at operational levels

The Thai Army and government under Prayut has been since the coup in 2014 talking to Malaysia to bring the insurgents to the peace table. Prayut called Malaysia "The One" in that role. But no substantive peace talks. Since then Prayut seems to have abandoned Malaysia and unilaterally tried a number of strategies to simply outlast the insurgents will to fight while minimizing army injury and death (albeit further exposing police, paramilitary and defense volunteer forces). Several times Prayut has planned to build an 800-mile wall between Malaysia and Thailand to slow alleged infiltration of insurgents from Malaysia; but yet to be funded.

 

So this new strategy is an old and failed one. The results are predictable - fail.

[Lingba]

all these new military toys the military is buying from China can be put to use in the south since there is nowhere else to use them and go down there and either clean house or hand over the land to them ...enough already of innocent people getting killed

[Nigeone]

Another day ,another plan. Same result !

[Denim]

For various reasons it will be known as the Tak Bai strategy.

[JAG]

The only way to bring these militants, insurgents, terrorists, whatever you call them, to the negotiating table is to close down their ability to carry out terrorist operations. You do this by extensive 24 hour a day patrolling, allied to observation posts, both overt and covert, snap vehicle check points and intelligence directed searches.. This prevents the terrorists from moving around when armed, makes it difficult for him to move weapons to where he wants them, and hide them effectively. It is manpower intensive, and requires relatively large numbers of well trained troops, and critically good leadership at junior (section, platoon and company) level. It is hard work, unrelenting and takes determination and time to achieve results. It needs to be conducted with a lightness of touch which avoids completely alienating the civil population.

 

Once they ( the terrorists) are prevented from functioning, then they will start talking.

 

The Thai army has the manpower, does it have the training, leadership and above all else the interest (amongst its Officer Corps) to do this?

 

Pattani is a long way from Bangkok.

[mark131v]

1 hour ago, JAG said:

The only way to bring these militants, insurgents, terrorists, whatever you call them, to the negotiating table is to close down their ability to carry out terrorist operations. You do this by extensive 24 hour a day patrolling, allied to observation posts, both overt and covert, snap vehicle check points and intelligence directed searches.. This prevents the terrorists from moving around when armed, makes it difficult for him to move weapons to where he wants them, and hide them effectively. It is manpower intensive, and requires relatively large numbers of well trained troops, and critically good leadership at junior (section, platoon and company) level. It is hard work, unrelenting and takes determination and time to achieve results. It needs to be conducted with a lightness of touch which avoids completely alienating the civil population.

 

Once they ( the terrorists) are prevented from functioning, then they will start talking.

 

The Thai army has the manpower, does it have the training, leadership and above all else the interest (amongst its Officer Corps) to do this?

 

Pattani is a long way from Bangkok.

You know the answer to that....

 

It is possible to train troops to be effective but to train an officer corps and to a lesser extent an NCO cadre from a generally uneducated no fail system where ability has little to do with position is a much harder proposition

 

It will never happen until the whole system is kicked into the long grass and then re started from scratch, problem is in a society of kow towing to your betters that whole concept of putting country before personal enrichment is completely alien....