Thailand’s PTT Oil Prepares to Suspend Refined Oil Exports to Myanmar
Thailand’s largest oil marketer by volume, PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc, is preparing to suspend refined oil exports to Myanmar in line with the government’s policy to crack down on criminal gangs in the neighboring country. The company is ready to comply with the government’s crackdown and is awaiting an official order from the National Security Council banning oil exports through five border crossings, it said. Racha Uthaichan, Executive Vice President of PTT Oil for International Activities.
Thailand’s government on Feb. 4 ordered the provincial electricity authority to cut off power to Shwe Kokko, a city in Myanmar that Thai and Chinese authorities say is a hub for a global cyber and wire fraud operation that also involves the forcible abduction of thousands of people from neighboring countries. The Thai government’s decision came ahead of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s four-day trip to Beijing, where she is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday. Liu Zhongyi, China’s vice minister of public security, visited Thailand last week to meet with Thai police officials, and called on Bangkok to cut off power and telecommunications services to the cyber-fraud complexes in Shwe Kokko and KK Park, both along the Thai-Myanmar border.
Plans to mark the 50th anniversary of Thailand-China relations will be the focus of Paetongtarn’s visit to China. The premier will discuss a proposed state visit by Thailand’s king and queen later this year, according to a senior adviser to the prime minister. The leaders will also discuss cross-border crime and the safety of Chinese visitors to Thailand. Eager for Chinese investment and tourism, Thailand is under pressure to crack down on criminal gangs that run financial scams, money laundering and drug and human trafficking in neighboring countries including Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
Late last month, China and Thailand announced plans to work together to dismantle dozens of cyber-fraud groups operating in Myanmar and combat related human trafficking, including by establishing at least one coordination center. A delegation from China’s Ministry of Public Security, led by Assistant Minister Liu Zhongyi, is visiting Thailand to address cross-border issues. According to Liu, Chinese authorities have identified 36 Chinese phone-fraud gangs operating in Myanmar’s southeastern Myawaddy region. The groups, numbering more than 100 people, have allegedly defrauded many citizens, mostly Chinese. In a meeting with Trairong Phiwpan, commissioner of Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), Liu said many Chinese citizens have been defrauded or forced to work for these organizations in Myanmar. Some have been victims of violence, with documented deaths, The Nation reported.
The CCIB has proposed exchanging information with Chinese authorities on gang activity and human trafficking, asking for Beijing’s help in identifying and arresting ring leaders and blocking victims’ money transfers to scammers’ accounts. On January 29, Liu led a Chinese delegation to Mae Sot, a city in Tak province bordering Myanmar that is considered a key hub for human trafficking. The delegation, along with local police, discussed ways to assist victims of Myawaddy-based cyber-fraud gangs, according to the Bangkok Post. A Sino-Thai coordination center is reportedly set to be operational by February at Bangkok’s national police headquarters, while Chinese authorities will set up another in Mae Sot.