OPINION

Unsettled boundary

Re: "Border crisis is a measure of national resolve", (Opinion, Dec 19).

Your opinion piece by Anucha Charoenpo has all the certainty of the "truth" in which he unreservedly believes he knows about an unsettled dispute that is over 100 years old.

This dispute mostly stems from the Franco-Siamese treaties of 1904 and 1907, which defined the final boundary between Siam and French Indochina, the borders of which were inherited by Cambodia.

While the treaty defined the relevant segment of the boundary along the watershed line of the Dangrek Mountains, demarcation of the border by French surveyors produced maps that deviated from the line in the now-disputed areas.

Which brings us to two sides, both believing they are right and both sure of ownership of land which was never settled.

Hence, all "attacks" by Cambodia are to them a defence; similarly, Thailand's defence of its territory is an attack on Cambodia.

There is no end to this beyond a final settlement of exactly where the border is agreed upon by both sides.

And that looks totally impossible when so much nationalistic fervour is present on both sides, sustained by nationalistic press reports.

Ballot betrayed

Re: "Respect the vote", (PostBag, Dec 19).

I must say I totally agree with Somkid Sirikumarkul on his letter regarding the politics here in Thailand, whereby a party that wins an election fairly is barred from forming a government by various factions.

Democracy does not come into play.

Extremism risks

Re: "Gunmen had possible Islamic State links", and "Bondi beach 'hero'recovering after surgery", (World, Dec 16).

None of the wire reports published in the Bangkok Post mentioned the educational background of the father, Sajid Akram, and his son, Naveed Akram, who are linked to radical Islamic culture and education system, where kids are taught hatred against non-Islamic religious people, especially against Jews.

The son, even though he was born and raised in Australia, was heavily radicalised with an ideology aligned with the Islamic State.

The first lesson for Thailand is to pay much more attention to locating radicalised foreign students, tourists and diasporas.

As part of a more vigilant immigration policy, I advise that more action be taken, including barring foreign preachers from preaching in Thai mosques, requiring preaching to be conducted in Thai, and having security agency officials present during preaching at every mosque during Friday prayers across Thailand.

The Thai government should strictly ban foreign students from applying for jobs in Thailand and require them to return to their home countries upon obtaining a degree. It should ban talak, a term in Islamic law that refers to the dissolution of marriage, to stop husbands from marrying three times. To introduce laws on divorce for Muslims, the courts must be under the authority of Thai judges.

Demographics have also changed over the last 20 years. During 2000-2005, the Muslim population was 4-5% of the total population or 3-4 million. During 2024-2025, the Muslim population accounted for 12% of Thailand's total population, or 7.5 million.

The Australian government, under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, consistently ignored anti-Semitism and violent protest marches on the streets of Australian cities. The Thai government should have closer coordination with the Jewish state of Israel, as its intelligence is the best in the world. Thailand can learn from them how to use technology to track potential acts of terrorism, because time bombs are ticking.