Navy to free Thai fishermen in January; fate of Myanmar nationals uncertain

Myanmar authorities are expected to release four Thai nationals next month after detaining them for alleged illegal fishing, Thai news outlets reported this week, while the consequences for 27 involved Myanmar fishermen remain unconfirmed. The Thai citizens and Myanmar nationals have been in the Myanmar navy’s custody since November 30, when a naval vessel fired on fishing boats that had reportedly strayed into Myanmar waters. The navy ship pursued one of the boats, leading to the drowning of one Thai national and the arrest of the remaining crew.Initially, the Kawthaung District Court in Tanintharyi Region sentenced the Thai owner of the fishing vessel to six years in prison and a fine of 200,000 kyat (US $94) for entry into Myanmar waters and illegal fishing. The three other Thai nationals, aged between 61 and 69, were each sentenced to four years in prison and fined 30,000 kyat (US $14).After the captain of the Thai fishing vessel admitted guilt, the court suspended the Thai men’s sentences. Authorities will transfer the Thai fishermen to Thailand in early 2025 to strengthen relations between the two countries, according to local reports. While it remains unclear what will happen to the 27 Myanmar nationals who were also arrested during the incident, the men were reportedly handed one-year prison sentences for illegally re-entering the country. Ye Thu, an activist working to establish a Thai-Myanmar fishermen’s union, told Myanmar Now that the four Thai nationals are expected to be transferred through the Thai-Myanmar Joint Boundary Committee ina bilateral body tasked with addressing border-related disputes between Thailand and Myanmar, while the Myanmar fishermen will likely remain in prison.He pointed out that the Myanmar migrants working on the Thai fishing vessel were legally employed with proper documentation, and could not select which areas they fished. “They profit and get rich, but when something goes wrong, we are the ones who bear the consequences,” Ye Thu told Myanmar Now, referring to the fishing boat owners. “There’s no security for the fishermen, no insurance for our lives. Is this how it should be?”Ye Thu added that while there have been calls for the release of the Thai nationals involved in the incident, Thai authorities have not made the same requests for the Myanmar citizens. Thai authorities are typically responsible for offering financial assistance and reintegration support to the families of Myanmar fishermen caught up in similar cases, according to Ye Thu, but it’s unclear how the Thai government will go about providing this aid, she said. The public is closely watching the Thai authorities’ handling of the incident, which has attracted significant international media attention. Thai migrant workers’ rights groups have demanded that the negotiations consider the Myanmar migrants’ labour rights. But it remains to be seen what will occur.The families of the Myanmar fisherman are equally concerned.Naw Thin Thin Mon, a relative of one of the arrested Myanmar nationals, told Myanmar Now that the fishermen are the primary breadwinners for their families. She insisted that the Thai employers should take accountability for the losses the families have endured while they await the release of their loved ones. She highlighted that Myanmar fishermen have faced decades of inadequate labour protections and poor job security, especially when injured or arrested. Many fishermen’s parents, now in their 70s or 80s, can no longer work and rely entirely on their sons as their primary source of financial support, she said. “The families are suffering the losses,” Naw Thin Thin Mon said. “Most of the time, they simply endure hardship, and now with their arrest, it’s the families who suffer.”

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