Thailand's military has been reorganised into a focused force notching up considerable gains against the Muslim-Malay insurgency in the south. Yet the separatists maintain an underlying capacity to strike back, despite their vulnerabilities.
After four years of strategic mismanagement and repeated tactical humiliations, Thailand's security forces appear finally to have checked the rise of the Malay-Muslim separatist insurgency in the kingdom's southern border provinces.
"The troop numbers have increased, although I have no exact figure. They are at a pagoda about 200 metres from Preah Vihear temple," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.
Late Wednesday he estimated that around 200 Thai troops were in Cambodian territory, while Cambodia had sent 380. Thailand maintains the area is a disputed no man's land and they are not in Cambodia.
—Bangkok Post
Should the current caretaker government remain in office?
| Yes | 42.9% |
| No | 28.4% |
| No reply | 28.7% |
Source: Suan Dusit University
Methodology: Interviews with 3,173 Thai adults, conducted in May 2007. No margin of error was provided.
