Thailand, Myanmar Eye Stronger Naval Ties

In May, Myanmar’s naval chief made an official visit to Thailand. The trip saw the two sides agree to significantly boost naval ties following decades of suspicion and relative neglect of this dimension of their bilateral relationship. Myanmar Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Tin Aung San traveled to Thailand May 12-13. During his trip he met with his Thai counterpart Admiral Na Arreenich as well as Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, who is also the country’s defense minister.

Though Myanmar and Thailand are neighbors that share land and sea borders, defense ties have been strained for decades, in part due to lingering suspicion in Myanmar of the Thai military’s perceived meddling in raging ethnic insurgencies. Defense relations have also tended to be dominated by the armies, reflecting their domestic significance in both countries as well as the key issues of concern, which have traditionally been drug smuggling and trafficking along the border as well as the growing number of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, now numbering over four million. From the 1960s up until the early 1990s, Myanmar also significantly underinvested in its navy, focusing largely on dealing with internal ethnic conflicts instead.

But defense ties between the two neighbors have improved significantly over the past few years, helped by Thailand’s efforts to crack down on drug smuggling and trafficking along the border and joint efforts to address irregular migration. And following a series of tense exchanges at sea in the late 1990s – including incidents where armed trawlers from Myanmar attacked Thai fishing boats – both countries realized that the maritime domain could also be a potential flashpoint in the bilateral relationship, with Myanmar subsequently investing more in its naval capabilities. In accordance with these trends, the two navies have interacted more as part of broader military exchanges. For instance, in September 2013, a Myanmar military delegation led by Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar armed forces, visited a war vessel of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), where he was exposed to a history of the Thai navy and related developments as part of confidence-building efforts.

But Thai officials say the real turning point in bilateral naval relations came last year, when both countries had to deal with the Rohingya migrant crisis. That crisis saw tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya, who had fled Myanmar and Bangladesh, stranded at sea while trying to reach Thailand and other Southeast Asian states, sparking international uproar. Following the incident, the RTN established separate navy-to-navy talks with Myanmar. Though the mechanism is still nascent, it has reportedly already resulted in both better communication as well as more effective operations at sea. In February, prominent Thai commentator Kavi Chongkittavorn noted in The Nation that there had been greater consultations among senior naval officials as well as more intelligence exchanges on maritime issues.

Aung San’s trip to Thailand in May sought to further boost a heretofore modest navy-to-navy relationship, which thus far has been limited largely to exchanges and dialogues. According to Thai media outlets, during the meetings, both sides expressed readiness to strengthen their naval cooperation, including through efforts such as joint training, operations, and academic programs. In Aung San’s meeting with Prawit, he said that talks with his counterpart had gone smoothly and that the two navies would look to boost naval collaboration.

No further information was publicly available about the dialogue, and Thai diplomats said they could not disclose specific details about ongoing discussions. However, one source did affirm the significance of the meeting, telling The Diplomat that Myanmar and India have been two key regional relationships that Thailand has looked to boost in the naval realm. Investing in those two countries reflects Bangkok’s growing attention to the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean, in part due to the refugee crisis last year.

Despite this ongoing cooperation, the two sides still have a long way to go. One key thing to watch for will be any significant movement toward resolving thorny sea border issues, which will attest to the maturity of naval ties. While these sensitive issues have been integrated into talks between the two militaries, including the annual Thailand-Myanmar High Level Committee (HLC) meeting, which began in 2013 and is chaired by the two military chiefs, thus far they have only begun to touch on the measures required for actual progress, such as preparations for the survey and demarcations of boundaries. Another key indicator will be the institutionalization of measures discussed by the two sides this time around, such as joint training or even exercises further down the line.

But there is little doubt that after decades of relative neglect, Thailand-Myanmar naval relations are now on the upswing, with broader implications for bilateral ties more generally as well as the region as these two Southeast Asian states begin trying to set aside the past and focus on the future.