Rubbish in Rayong
In the absence of any realistic scenario that an enemy armada will sail up the Gulf of Thailand to threaten Thai sovereignty, I suggest a role for the Royal Thai Navy that would serve the nation, both in restoring its post-Covid tourist industry but also its longer-term economic recovery.
I am talking about the appalling pollution of the Gulf. In my own area, Rayong, the beaches are filthy beyond description, with piles of rubbish covering them from one end to the other. I suspect that the situation is similar in beaches on both the eastern and western sides of the Gulf.
The incoming tide, especially at this time of year, is a filthy soup of garbage that is washed up at high tide to sit on the beach. This is not rubbish left by local beach users. It is coming from offshore, the result of commercial shipping dumping its rubbish overboard to avoid having to pay for its removal on arrival in port. My belief in this is reinforced by the fact that so much of the garbage is barnacle-encrusted and has obviously been in the water for a long time.
I am not suggesting that this is the sole source of pollution, for industrial waste, local fishing enterprises, and garbage vomited into the Gulf from Thailand's rivers and waterways, is obviously a major contributory factor.
Many times I have looked out and seen Thai navy patrol boats anchored for days on end off Rayong's industrial estates, and similarly in Hua Hin where they anchor off one of the royal palaces.
How much better if these patrol boats actively lived up to their name and "patrolled" the Gulf, looking for the culprits in this devastating ecological vandalism.
Catch just a few offenders and impound their ships and cargoes until a hefty multi-million baht impost is paid, and perhaps the message will get through to the international shipping conglomerates, that Thailand is not their dumping ground.
This would be a far more useful task for the Thai navy than pretending to be arming and training for a non-existent threat or spending billions of taxpayers' money on submarines and other toys for the boys.
David Brown
