The government is moving forward to resolve issues in the southern border provinces. Sihasak has approved four strategic points to pilot in 14 districts, with performance to be measured over six months.
On 11 August at the National Security Council (NSC) building, Mr. Sihasak Puangkaewkaew, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, chaired a meeting of the government's special representatives committee addressing southern border province issues. High-level security and administrative officials attended, including General Adul Boonthamcharoen, Minister of Defence; Mr. Chatichai Bangchuad, NSC Secretary-General; Mr. Piyasiri Watwanarangkura, Secretary-General of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC); and Mr. Wan Muhamad Nor Matha, Prime Minister's Advisor and committee advisor.
After the meeting, Mr. Sihasak explained that the key focus was creating "unity" in collaborative work among agencies in the area, especially the combined efforts of three main pillars: the security sector, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), SBPAC, and the Ministry of Interior, working through provincial governors and district chiefs.
The meeting set four main strategic missions to emphasize: education; improving quality of life and safety for local residents; enhancing border security with a focus on close cooperation with Malaysia; and strategic communication to clearly and accurately convey the government’s ongoing measures and direction.
Mr. Sihasak added that integrated work will begin following this plan in 14 pilot districts along the Thailand-Malaysia border. It will emphasize concrete cooperation among all sectors, with a strict monitoring and evaluation timeline. The first evaluation will occur in six months, and if targets and tangible results are met, the outcomes will be presented to the National Security Council (NSC) for further approval.
Meanwhile, there was an update regarding progress on the "peace dialogue process for the southern border provinces." Currently, the process remains temporarily slowed as Thailand awaits Malaysia's appointment of a new "facilitator" and the official submission of the name to the Thai side before resuming the peace dialogue process.