BANGKOK — 23 June 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said authorities will investigate allegations that security agencies intercepted the phone communications of 2,000 residents in Thailand’s southern border provinces, describing the issue as one that requires further discussion.
Speaking at Government House, Sihasak, who serves as chairman of the government’s special representative committee on the southern unrest, and Defence Minister Lt. Gen. Adul Boonthamcharoen, the committee’s vice chairman, outlined efforts to address the situation in the deep south.
Sihasak said the committee had already held a meeting and established operational guidelines. A subcommittee has been tasked as the main mechanism for engaging with local communities and gathering information from the field.
Information collected by the subcommittee will be submitted to the main committee for consideration, he said. The committee will review issues from the perspectives of security, development and peace dialogue, including cooperation with Malaysia.
He added that the committee has been continuously monitoring developments in the region.
Asked about reports that security agencies had monitored the phone communications of around 2,000 people in the southern border provinces, Sihasak said authorities would first need to verify the facts.
“We have to examine what actually happened. It is another issue that will need to be discussed,” he said.
Adul said security operations in the three southern border provinces remain primarily under the responsibility of the Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 Forward Command, while the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre oversees development efforts.
A dialogue team also serves as part of the mechanism for addressing the conflict, with the government’s special representatives acting as the driving force behind the process, he said.
Adul said authorities are aware of the recent increase in violent incidents in the region. He added that a subcommittee chaired by Gen. Nattaphong Paokaew, Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, has already completed one field visit and is expected to report its findings to the committee soon.
The remarks came amid renewed scrutiny of security operations and ongoing efforts to restore peace and stability in Thailand’s conflict-affected southern border region.
