separatist
violence in Thailand's predominantly
Muslim southern provinces prompt
border closures and controls with
Malaysia to stem terrorist activities;
Southeast Asian states have enhanced
border surveillance to check the
spread of avian flu; talks continue on
completion of demarcation with Laos
but disputes remain over several
islands in the Mekong River; despite
continuing border committee talks,
Thailand must deal with Karen and
other ethnic rebels, refugees, and
illegal cross-border activities, and
as of 2006, over 116,000 Karen, Hmong,
and other refugees and asylum seekers
from Burma; Cambodia and Thailand
dispute sections of historic boundary
with missing boundary markers;
Cambodia claims Thai encroachments
into Cambodian territory and
obstructing access to Preah Vihear
temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by
ICJ decision in 1962; Thailand is
studying the feasibility of jointly
constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the
Salween river near the border with
Burma; in 2004, international
environmentalist pressure prompted
China to halt construction of 13 dams
on the Salween River that flows
through China, Burma, and Thailand
Refugees
and internally displaced persons:
refugees
(country of origin): 132,241
(Burma) (2007)
Illicit
drugs:
a minor
producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana;
transit point for illicit heroin en route to
the international drug market from Burma and
Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the
area of cannabis cultivation and shifted
some production to neighboring countries;
opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by
eradication efforts; also a drug
money-laundering center; minor role in
methamphetamine production for regional
consumption; major consumer of
methamphetamine since the 1990s despite a
series of government crackdowns
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