The need to improve population and resource control in Thailand's counterinsurgency

Abstract

Since January 2004, southern Thailand has seen a return of the Malay Muslim separatist disagreement with the central government. In this new round of resistance, the insurgents' activities are well planned and well organized and have brought about heavy damage to property and life as well as created much confusion, making investigation and counter operations difficult. This thesis examines the root cause of the insurgency, errors made in the countering insurgency in the past, the insurgents' activities in this new round, and the performance of the Thai government in countering the problem. The argument is that the existence of "daily deadly incidents" in 2007 indicated that after four years of government suppression, the insurgents still had the freedom to maneuver. The government has not been successful in providing civil security and protecting the population from the insurgents. This thesis focuses on the role of the military in creating secure environment and control areas by conducting population and resource control. This thesis suggests areas for improvements and modifications. By improving population and resource control measures, the military will be able to reduce the insurgents' influence, establish civil security, and finally control areas.