Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Thailand is actively considering joining the ban convention. At the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2011, a government representative said “Thailand is now at a critical juncture. Constructive engagement from the international community is a crucial element for our next steps as well as in the continued review process.”[1] Previously, in June 2011, Thailand stated that it hopes to accede to the convention in “the near future.”[2] On 14 February 2011, Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya told the UN Security Council, “We are seriously considering joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions.”[3]

After Thailand used cluster munitions in early February 2011 during its border conflict with Cambodia, it stated that it “fully understands the concerns raised” by States Parties over its use of cluster munitions and promised to “remain committed to engaging with the international community on this issue”[4] (see the Use section below). Thailand said it had “concern for [the] safety of civilians” and noted “important lessons have been learnt from this episode and we therefore see the need to close this chapter and move forward.”

Thailand participated in most of the diplomatic conferences of the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but attended the formal negotiations in May 2008 as an observer only and did not sign the convention when it was opened for signature in Oslo in December 2008.[5]  

Since 2008, Thailand has continued to show a strong interest in the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It attended (as an observer) the convention’s First Meeting of States Parties in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2010 and the Second Meeting of States Parties in Beirut, Lebanon in September 2011, making statements at both meetings. Thailand also participated in the convention’s intersessional meetings in Geneva in June 2011 and April 2012.

In 2011, four NGOs established the “Thailand Network for Humanitarian Disarmament” to cooperate in support of humanitarian disarmament issues in Thailand, including on cluster munitions, landmines, and other explosive weapons.[6]

Thailand is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.

Convention on Conventional Weapons

Thailand is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), but it participated in the CCW Fourth Review Conference in November 2011 as an observer. Thailand did not comment on the chair’s draft text of a proposed CCW protocol on cluster munitions. The Review Conference concluded with no agreement on a protocol or proposals to continue negotiations in 2012, thus ending the CCW’s work on cluster munitions.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Thailand is not known to have ever produced or exported cluster munitions.

Thailand possesses a stockpile of cluster munitions, but the composition and status is not known. The United States (US) supplied Thailand with 500 Rockeye and 200 CBU-71 air-dropped cluster bombs at some point between 1970 and 1995.[7] Thailand also possesses French-made 155 mm NR 269 ERFB extended-range artillery projectiles each containing 56 M42/M46[8] type dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions.[9] Based on the types of submunitions identified in Cambodia after artillery strikes, Thailand also possesses a cluster munition that delivers M85 self-destructing DPICM submunitions.

Thailand has said that it does not intend to acquire more stocks of cluster munitions.[10] Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has been providing the government with advice and information on efficient solutions for the destruction of Thailand’s stockpile of cluster munitions.[11]

Use

In recent years, Thai and Cambodian military forces have engaged in several brief skirmishes over disputed parts of the border near Preah Vihear temple, resulting in claims and counter-claims of new antipersonnel mine use.[12] In February 2011, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), a government entity, claimed that Thai military forces had fired cluster munitions during fighting on the border at Preah Vihear.[13] Separate missions by CMC members in February and April 2011 confirmed that cluster munitions were used by Thailand on Cambodian territory, including M42/M46 and M85 type DPICM submunitions.[14] The CMC urged Thailand to provide detailed information on the cluster munition strikes and urged both Cambodia and Thailand to take urgent action to denounce cluster munitions and join the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Thailand’s use of cluster munitions elicited a strong international response as noted by the Beirut Progress Report issued by the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties, which stated, “Several states have reported actions reacting to the instance of use of cluster munitions by Thailand in 2011. This includes individual and joint demarches, support for fact-finding missions and condemnation of the use in public statements. The President of the Convention has also issued a statement, stating his concern over the use of cluster munitions. States and civil society have reported on how they follow up, in terms of actions to increase the understanding and knowledge of the Convention. States and civil society have had a good dialogue with Thailand, which was followed up by a workshop on the CCM [Convention on Cluster Munitions] held in Bangkok in August.”[15]

Thailand responded to the Beirut Progress Report by stating, “Thailand strictly adhered to the applicable international humanitarian law that all states are obliged to prevent unnecessary loss of civilian lives.”[16]

A two-day inter-ministerial workshop on the convention was organized by NPA in cooperation with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok in August 2011, with support provided by Norway, Australia and Switzerland. Thai officials said that the workshop had proven useful for creating a broader understanding by the Thai government of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[17] After the workshop, NPA and the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperated to produce a Thai translation of the text of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and NPA Thailand has also developed an information kit on the convention in Thai language text.[18]