BANGKOK, 5 June 2015 – No irregular migrants have been found along Thailand’s Andaman coast line during the integrated patrol of the Thai Armed Forces under the Operation Center for Patrol and Humanitarian Assistance to Irregular Migrants in the Indian Ocean (OCPHAM), according to Spokesman of the Ministry of Defense Maj Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich.
The patrols are conducted on land, along the coast of the Andaman Sea and in the air. The Thai Army is responsible for land patrols combing suspected areas in search of human trafficking camps. The Thai Navy uses seven ships to patrol the ocean. At the same time, the Air Force launches aerial patrols that last more than ten hours a day, over Phang-nga, Krabi and Satun provinces.
Maj Gen Kongcheep continued that the joint patrolling operation between Thai and U.S. forces is also running successfully. The two sides has set up an operation base in Malaysia which will be closed on 11 June as scheduled.
