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Thailand Border Patrol Police
Developed in the 1950s with assistance from the United States
Central Intelligence Agency, the paramilitary Border Patrol
Police (BPP) has remained the country's most effective internal
security force. Although technically part of the TNPD, the BPP
has always enjoyed a great deal of basic autonomy within the
national headquarters as well as in its multifaceted field
operations. Because the royal family was a principal patron of
the organization, the BPP developed the esprit de corps of an
elite unit. This traditional relationship benefited both the
palace and its paramilitary protectors. At the same time, the BPP
retained direct links with the larger Royal Thai Army--a
relationship that afforded it an additional degree of political
strength. Most BPP commanders were former army officers whose
military ties were of considerable value in BPP operations.
Charged with border security along some 4,800 kilometers of
land frontiers, the BPP's mission included collecting information
on the activities of smugglers, bandits, illegal immigrants,
refugees, infiltrators, and communist insurgents. To fulfill its
mission, it employed an extensive intelligence network and
maintained surveillance over villages and farming districts that
had a history of cross-border activities. When armed force was
required, the BPP was able to respond effectively. Despite its
modest size in comparison with the army, the BPP became a primary
counterinsurgency force because of its training, motivation, and
unique skills.
Thirty-two-man platoons functioning as security teams formed
the basic operating units of the BPP. Each platoon was supported
by one or more heavy weapons platoons stationed at the regional
and area police headquarters. A special police aerial
reinforcement unit airlifted BPP platoons to troubled areas when
an emergency arose. Relatively well armed with modern light
infantry equipment, the BPP also benefited from training by
United States Army Special Forces advisers, who helped establish
an instruction program during the 1960s.
The BPP served as an important adjunct to the Thai military
and often operated under army (and sometimes marine corps)
control during counterinsurgency operations. BPP units stationed
along the Cambodian and Laotian borders following the Vietnamese
invasion of Cambodia in 1979 often served as the first line of
defense and bore the brunt of Vietnamese attacks.
In order to carry out its primary intelligence mission, the
BPP worked to establish rapport with remote area villagers and
hill tribes. They engaged in civic action projects to gain the
confidence and loyalty of rural peoples, building and operating
more than 200 schools in remote areas and helping the army to
construct offices for civilian administration. In addition, they
established rural medical aid stations, gave farmers agricultural
assistance, and built small airstrips for communication and
transportation purposes.
Responding to village complaints of banditry and harassment
by elements the central government considered subversive, the BPP
supported the development of a local law enforcement adjunct
known as the Volunteer Defense Corps (VDC). Established in 1954,
the corps was intended to provide law and order, much like a
civilian militia responsible to local authorities, in the event
of defense emergencies or natural disasters. The paramilitary VDC
had the main responsibility for protecting local inhabitants from
threats and intimidation by guerrillas who infiltrated the border
provinces from neighboring Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. One of
its chief tactics was to deny the insurgents access to the food
and other supplies that made villages and farms favorite targets.
VDC members received training from the BPP, and their effectiveness in both law enforcement and civic action was of considerable
value to government goals.
In the late 1980s, VDC strength was estimated at roughly
33,000, down from a peak of about 52,000 in 1980. Part of the
reduction was absorbed by the formation of a new organization
called the Thahan Phran. With a strength of about 14,000, the
Thahan Phran was a volunteer irregular force deployed in active
trouble spots along the Cambodian and Burmese borders. The
organization followed a military structure and had 32 regiments
and 196 companies. The Thahan Phran gained considerable publicity
and incurred significant casualties during Vietnamese
bombardments and local assaults along the Cambodian border.
Data as of September 1987
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