The recent violation of Thai airspace by a Myanmar MiG-29 fighter jet

Understanding Thailand's unusual response

Bibliographic Data

ID13021150
AuthorsKridsana Chotisut (0000-0002-1406-5847, Naresuan University Hospital), Poowin Bunyavejchewin (0000-0002-9080-2052, Thammasat University, corresponding author), Nattaraporn Promprasit (Thammasat University)
Year2022
Volume8
Issue1
Pages476-484
Publication date2022-12-04
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsian Journal of Comparative Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2057-8911 • E-ISSN: 2057-892X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/20578911221140798
OpenAlexW4311471152
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited4

Foreign aircraft trespassing national airspace is considered a violation of state sovereignty and tends to precipitate serious responses, ranging from shooting down offenders to diplomatic protests. In late June 2022, a Myanmar MiG-29 fighter jet flew over Thailand's Phop Phra district, made a low pass, and fired at ethnic-minority armed groups stationed along the border. The incident was a clear-cut airspace incursion, apparently intended to incite retaliation from Bangkok. However, despite the harshly worded initial response in a press release issued promptly by the Royal Thai Air Force, the Prayut government attempted to minimize the seriousness of the Myanmar fighter jet's actions. This unexpected reaction triggered considerable public criticism. Nevertheless, given Thailand's complex positioning in the Thai–Myanmar borderlands, the mitigated response might have had a certain logic, especially if, as some onlookers suggested, the intrusion was intentional

Aeronautics · Government (linguistics · Jet (fluid · Political science · Seriousness · Sovereignty · State (computer science · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Computer Science · Engineering · History · International Law and Aviation · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Aerospace Engineering

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