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Thailand, Burma Sign Regional Pact in Malaysia to Fight Transnational Crime¹

March 12, 2006

Thailand and Burma joined eight other Southeast Asian countries in signing an agreement to strengthen cooperation against cross-border crime.

Thai Attorney General Pachara Yuthithamdamrong and Burma's ambassador, Myint Aung, signed the Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters in Kuala Lumpur, saying it would help the region battle problems such as terrorism, human trafficking and drug smuggling.

The other eight members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the pact in November 2004, but Thailand and Burma had to introduce new laws before they could do likewise.

The agreement provides for governments to cooperate in investigating and prosecuting crimes, including making arrangements to locate witnesses, share documents and gather evidence.

Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have also ratified the treaty over the past year as part of the final step to enforce it. Other ASEAN members, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines, are expected to do so by the end of 2006, Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, a minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department told reporters.

Officials have said the treaty was crucial because countries have previously been limited by informal cooperation that often failed to extend to areas such as accessing banking records or obtaining testimony from uncooperative witnesses.

However, the agreement does not provide for the extradition of suspects, which officials say is covered under separate laws and bilateral treaties among ASEAN governments.

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¹ Associated Press, 17 January 2006. (Source: UNIAP Thailand)