Senior General Min Aung Hlaing receives delegation led by 3rd Army Area Commander of Royal Thai Armed Forces

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing holds talks with Commander of 3rd Army Area of Royal Thai Armed Forces Lt-Gen Somsak Nilbanjerdkul.

Nay Pyi Taw June 23

No major problem has arisen thanks to the closer military relations between Myanmar and Thailand, and the difficulties can also be solved in a peaceful way. In fact they are the outcome of mutual trust and cordial relations between the two armed forces and their leaders which are the results of the negotiations of the township border committees-TBCs and the regional border committees-RBCs in which views are exchanged based on amity. These fine achievements must be maintained, said Commander-in- Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing at his meeting with Commander of 3rd Army Area of Royal Thai Armed Forces Lt-Gen Somsak Nilbanjerdkul and delegation who attended to the 30th Myanmar-Thai RBC meeting at Zeyathiri Parlour here at 4.15 pm yesterday.

Present together with the Senior General at the meeting were Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Commander-in-Chief (Army) Vice-Senior General Soe Win and senior military officers of the Office of the Commander-in- Chief (Army). The Thai commander was accompanied by senior officers of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, delegates of the two countries to Myanmar-Thai RBC meetings, Myanmar Military Attaché to Thailand Brig-Gen Chit Swe and Thai Military Attaché to Myanmar Colonel Salawin Uttarak.

At the meeting, the Thai commander said the bilateral military relations are now at their highest point. As discussions at the RBC meeting were based on mutual understanding they produced a lot of benefits for the armed forces and the peoples of the two countries. He then explained the results of the 30th RBC meeting.

The Senior General said when he was serving as a command commander, he made discussions three times as the leader of Myanmar’s Tatmadaw RBC team. Tangible results were achieved from the RBC meetings as measures were taken with correct attitude for the improvement of border situations and promotion of bilateral cooperation between the two militaries.It is a good thing to launch a plan for reforestation along the border areas for environmental conservation, which was discussed at the current meeting. It is better to adopt such a plan in other ASEAN countries after our two countries have achieved success as a model. The entire world should plant trees. Only with trees and forests, will there be a temperate climate and the guarantee for water resources for agricultural purposes. Therefore, forests need to be set up on a manageable scale in our countries. Meanwhile, systematic measures should be taken to control cutting down trees, the Senior General suggested.

Then, they cordially discussed continued cooperation between the two militaries in the border issues.

After the meeting, the Senior General and the Thai commander exchanged gifts and posed for a documentary photo together with those present.

The meeting took place in Kengtung, Shan State (East) on 21-22 June. Myanmar and Thailand share an over 1,100 mile-long border. In order to prolong the relationship between the two armed forces, meetings of Township Border Committee-TBC, Regional Border Committee-RBC and High Level Committee-HLC are annually held by the two countries in turn. (100)

The Myawady Daily