Thai-Malaysian Naval exercise concludes

AO MAKHAM: A ceremony was held yesterday to mark the conclusion of a joint naval exercise between the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, the Malaysian Navy and the Marine Police. Burma’s sudden closure of its border with Thailand added some interest, but the annual event, which started on Sunday, was otherwise without incident. The exercise featured the Royal Thai Navy coastal patrol boat “Songkhla” and its Marine Police counterpart “Tor 98”, as well as four Malaysian vessels. Referring to the closure of Myanmar’s border with Thailand, Vice-Admiral Pairoj Theerachai, Commander of the Third Fleet, said, “There haven’t been any problems so far. We have to keep our noses clean these days, though. “We have to warn [Thai fishermen] not to sail into Burmese waters. And we have to protect ourselves by having more ships on duty at sea, just in case.”