Thai FM Visits Myanmar After Bomb Spillover
Thai FM Visits Myanmar After Bomb Spillover
NAYPYIDAW, April 22, 2026 — Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow visited Myanmar on Tuesday, days after a Myanmar military aircraft mistakenly dropped bombs across the Thai border, with Bangkok seeking stronger security coordination and reduced violence along the frontier.
Speaking in Naypyidaw, Sihasak said the visit would focus on border security, transnational crime, trade, pollution and Myanmar’s possible return to fuller engagement with ASEAN.
The trip comes after fighting near the Thai-Myanmar frontier led to a Myanmar military aircraft dropping ordnance into Thai territory, prompting concern in Bangkok and renewed calls for tighter military coordination.
Thailand wants Myanmar’s new leadership to prevent further spillover from internal conflict, Sihasak said, adding that both countries had maintained military-level communication and that Thailand would host the next round of bilateral border security talks.
“The objective is to reduce violence along the border and strengthen cooperation,” he said.
Bangkok is also pressing Myanmar to step up action against scam compounds, drug trafficking and other cross-border criminal activity that has increasingly affected Thailand and the wider region.
Trade was another key issue, with Sihasak noting that border commerce accounts for around 80% of total bilateral trade. Thai officials are seeking the smoother reopening and management of checkpoints disrupted by security concerns.
Thailand also plans to raise environmental issues, including seasonal PM2.5 pollution and water contamination affecting northern provinces. Thai media reported that Bangkok would urge Myanmar, Laos and Thailand to cooperate more closely on transboundary haze.
In a separate move, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry will send specialists to discuss arsenic contamination in the Kok River after public concerns over water quality in Chiang Rai.
Sihasak said Thailand also supports Myanmar’s gradual re-engagement with ASEAN, but stressed that progress would depend on addressing the regional bloc’s five-point peace consensus and broader concerns over instability.
The visit signals Thailand’s attempt to balance pragmatic engagement with its neighbor while protecting border security after the recent bomb spillover heightened public and political concern.
