The recent surge of violence in the deep South is evidence that the Yingluck Shinawatra government has failed to combat the unrest after one year in office.
According to Deep South Watch, an independent research organisation monitoring violence in the region, the number of injuries _ 572 _ recorded in March this year was the highest monthly total since violence flared in 2004.
The government has set up a new southern command centre to tackle the insurgency in response to a spate of high-profile car bombs during the holy month of Ramadan.
However, the centre, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Yutthasak Sasiprapa, has not given any clear idea or extended any hope about how the situation would improve.
The government's decision to set up the centre can be seen as a means to buy time.
Ms Yingluck seems to have passed responsibility for handling the crisis to Gen Yutthasak, a retired army general, despite the fact he has never served in the restive South.
Past governments have all failed to improve the situation in the deep South, not just this one.
The insurgency flared up again on Jan 4, 2004, when a group of armed militants raided an army weapons depot in Narathiwat's Cho Airong district and made off with a large cache of war weapons.
The raid marked a renewal of insurgent violence in the southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and some districts of Songkhla which has carried on ever since.
The unrest has claimed more than 5,200 lives and sucked up more than 180 billion baht in pubic spending as successive governments have battled the insurgency.
The army has played perhaps the biggest role of all state agencies in tackling the unrest.
The army has deployed 16 battalions, or about 60,000 soldiers, to the three southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, and four districts of Songkhla province.
The troops have worked under the Internal Security Operations (Isoc).
Though 17 ministries and 16 government agencies are also helping to tackle the problem, many people still believe the army bears main responsibility for dousing the southern flames.
"When any kind of problem occurs, people usually put the blame on the army," said deputy army chief Gen Dapong Rattanasuwan, who is in charge of drafting a strategic plan to solve the southern violence.
"The truth is there are many ministries working with Isoc. The Isoc and the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre (SBPAC) are jointly responsible for solving the unrest.
"But members of the public tend to view Isoc as wearing the green colours of the military," he said.
Where public perception is concerned, it is therefore not Ms Yingluck nor Defence Minister ACM Sukumpol Suwanatat who have to shoulder the burden of quelling the unrest, but army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha.
When the military's handling of the unrest is criticised, Gen Prayuth can react angrily.
The military is seldom heard complaining about the government's role, however, and in fact both sides appear to have enjoyed good ties so far.
The army has sought the government's approval to establish five more ranger regiments in the deep South.
Gen Prayuth has also pushed ahead with a plan to set up the 4th Army Corps, a new military unit, to tackle the insurgency in the region.
Despite the government's failure to curb the problems in the deep South in its first year, it does seem the army will carry on leading attempts to tackle the southern unrest, at least for now.