Old photos show armoured vehicle transfer and border patrol, not 'Thai military preparing to enter Myanmar'

Published on February 20, 2025 at 08:02
3 min read
By AFP Thailand

As Thailand intensified efforts to crack down on compounds housing illegal scam operations that have flourished in parts of Myanmar's lawless borderlands, four photos were shared in social media posts that falsely claimed they showed the Thai military readying to cross the border in February 2025. The Thai military posted two of the images in July 2020 after the delivery of new armoured vehicles, while the other two photos were used in a news report about border patrols in March 2024.

"The actions of the Thai military are quite inappropriate, seemingly for military purposes on the Myanmar side," read part of the Burmese-language caption to Facebook photos posted on February 13, 2025.

The four photos, shared more than 170 times, show columns of armoured vehicles and soldiers manning machine guns atop military trucks.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on February 20, 2025

The same four photos were also shared alongside similar claims on Facebook here and here.

"If there is a war with Thailand, I am ready to join the BGF or the military," read a comment on one of the posts, using the initials for the Karen Border Guard Force, a militia allied to Myanmar's military junta.

"I think Thailand wants to show their strength to destroy Shwe Kokko," read another comment, referring to the Myanmar border town known as a hub for scam centres.

These scam compounds, which have mushroomed in Myanmar's borderlands, are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, swindling their compatriots in an industry analysts say is worth billions of dollars (archived link).

Many of those involved are Chinese and Beijing has stepped up pressure on Myanmar and Thailand to shut the centres down.

Authorities and militia groups have made a show of raiding the centres, which have also been linked to drug smuggling and gambling, before releasing and repatriating the foreigners inside (archived link).

The photos circulating online, however, were not taken in February 2025.

Armoured vehicle transfer

A reverse image search on Google found the photos of the armoured vehicles were posted on the Royal Thai Army's official Facebook page on July 10, 2020 (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared photos (left) and the Thai Army's photos (right)

Their caption says the photos show Stryker armoured vehicles that were transferred to the 112th Infantry Regiment between July 8 and 12, 2020. The four vehicles were delivered to a military base in Chachoengsao province, which does not border Myanmar.

Border patrol in 2024

Separate reverse image searches on Google found the other two falsely shared photos were published in a report by Thai newspaper Matichon Online on March 9, 2024 (archived link).

The report's headline reads: "Commander of Rajamanu task force leads armed vehicle unit to patrol the border after intensified clashes in Myanmar."

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared photos (left) and the photos published by Matichon Online (right)

The same photos were published by Thai media in reports here and here about the deployment of patrols in Tak and Mae Hong Son province after fighting reportedly intensified across the border (archived here and here).

The ongoing conflict in Myanmar, sparked by the military's 2021 coup, regularly sends people rushing across the 2,400-kilometre (1,490-mile) border between the two countries.

AFP has previously debunked other false claims about scam centres in Myanmar and tensions along the border with Thailand.

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