Country Report on Terrorism 2023 - Chapter 1 - Thailand

Overview:  Thailand did not experience any attacks attributed to transnational terrorist groups in 2023.  Domestic insurgents with no known operational links to transnational terrorist groups carried out episodic attacks in the Deep South provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla, and Yala, continuing a 19-year ethnonationalist insurgency.  In line with multiyear trends, the number of insurgent attacks remained relatively low in 2023, and large-scale attacks almost exclusively targeted Thai security forces.  Thailand remained a productive counterterrorism partner and party to several international cooperation fora in 2023, and it successfully implemented its full suite of updated counterterrorism policies by the end of the reporting period.

2023 Terrorist Incidents:  Insurgent attacks likely increased slightly in 2023, though a lack of accurate reporting prevented both fidelity on the number of attacks and the parties responsible.  Violence remained confined to Thailand’s southernmost provinces.  Insurgents used small arms, IEDs, and vehicle-borne IEDs in attacks mostly on government-linked or security targets.  A notable handful of insurgent attacks targeted civilians.

• On January 11 a group of security personnel guarding a group of teachers were targeted with a combined bomb-and-shooting attack in the Si Sakhon subdistrict in Narathiwat.  The attack killed one person and injured two others.
• On May 12 a bomb killed a Thai Army officer and injured three other military personnel on patrol in Yala’s Bannang Sata subdistrict.
• On August 3, one Thai Army official died and seven others were injured, when a bomb drove their truck off the road in Tanyong Dalo subdistrict in Pattani province.
• On August 28 a combined bomb-and-shooting attack on a police and territorial defense volunteer patrol in Pattani’s Yarang subdistrict killed four persons and wounded eight others.  The attack was the deadliest of the year.
• On September 30, insurgents launched a series of combined bombing-and-shooting attacks at 12 locations in Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala provinces.  The targets included military operation bases, police stations, and check points.  Two persons were injured.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security:  Thai CT policy exists in three nesting tiers:  the country’s 20-year National Strategy; a five-year National Security Policy and Plan (NSPP), and a five-year National Action Plan for Counterterrorism (NAPC).  As of the end of the reporting period, all three policies were in effect and, in the case of the NSPP and NAPC, recently updated.

Thailand’s law enforcement authorities continue to demonstrate capacity to detect, deter, and respond to terrorist incidents.  Multiple entities including the Royal Thai Police, the Department of Special Investigation, and components of the Thai military have law enforcement responsibilities on counterterrorism cases.  In the Deep South, the military and law enforcement share counterinsurgency responsibilities.

Information-sharing and interagency coordination between offices with CT responsibilities remained an occasional challenge, including on border security issues.  Thailand’s immigration system is real-time connected with INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document Database, and Thailand collected and analyzed Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record data on commercial flights at all international airports, though border security agencies are inconsistent in identifying and responding to watchlisted travelers entering Thailand.

Thailand has continued to host and participate in courses to boost its counterterrorism capabilities, including at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, but security units with CT responsibilities also continue to struggle with bureaucratic challenges, including knowledge management and sustainment training.  In 2023 the FBI Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center engaged with the Royal Thailand Police Forensic Lab and the Royal Thai Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal for training on collecting and analyzing improvised latent print-collection evidence, technical information, and exchanges of technical information and techniques.  Thailand also receives approximately $1.6 million dollars per year of foreign assistance funds to support participation in the Diplomatic Security’s Antiterrorism Assistance program.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism:  Thailand is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, and its Financial Intelligence Unit, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, is a member of the Egmont Group.  There were no significant changes in 2023.

Countering Violent Extremism:  Thai officials include countering violent extremism (CVE) in their CT policy.  Their focus is on increasing and making available mental health resources as a preventive measure.  CVE elements are also increasingly featured in cross-government training exercises.

International and Regional Cooperation:  There were no changes following 2022.  Thailand remains a member of regional and international multilateral fora, through which it participates in counterterrorism efforts, including ASEAN, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus, ARF, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.