Bangkok:Mr. Pattarapong Leelaphat, a Member of Parliament for Chiang Mai from the People's Party, has called for urgent action to address the worsening transboundary water pollution crisis. He emphasized the need for the Thai government to utilize the upcoming visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang to push for an investigation into the mineral supply chain and to foster multilateral discussions among four ASEAN nations.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Phatraphong highlighted that Thailand is currently being used as a transit route for toxic minerals, effectively acting as a "mineral laundering machine" due to the lack of laws and mechanisms to monitor the supply chain. He noted that the Customs Department's statistics show a significant increase in the import of antimony, primarily from Myanmar, which is then re-exported to China and Vietnam. This increase correlates with detected abnormalities in sediment and water in northern Thailand.
Mr. Phatraphong proposed managing the domestic mineral supply chain as a solution, urging the government to issue regulations requiring importers to declare the origin of minerals for traceability. He also stressed the importance of expanding traceability to the export of raw chemicals used in mining to neighboring countries.
He further criticized the Thai government's reluctance to confront China over the safety of Thai rivers, despite China's own environmental measures, including closing mines due to environmental impacts. He recommended that the Thai government build on existing diplomatic efforts with China to implement a database for monitoring the mineral supply chain and involve Chinese authorities in inspections of mining sites in Myanmar and Laos.
Addressing the broader regional implications, Mr. Phatraphong advocated for expanding negotiations beyond Myanmar to include ministerial-level talks among Thailand, Myanmar, China, and Laos. He suggested utilizing existing cooperation frameworks like the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation and the China-ASEAN cooperation framework to develop a joint action plan.
He concluded by urging the Thai government to lead efforts in setting common standards for water quality monitoring and upstream mine inspections, warning that delays in action would continue to endanger the lives of Thai citizens due to toxic environmental residues.