On 24 May 2023, Mr. Bolbongse Vangphaen, Deputy Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs participated in a panel discussion at the 32nd Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) Side Event: Border Management in Southeast Asia: turning ASEAN regional policy into law enforcement action, hosted by Cambodia and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, Austria.

DDG Bolbongse highlighted Thailand’s key role in initiating a multi-country and stakeholder process on enhancing an ASEAN-wide border management cooperation arrangement to address cross-border crimes. Thailand and UNODC co-hosted a series of High Level Regional Conferences from 2015 to 2019 and thereafter co-developed a draft framework which Thailand, as 2019 ASEAN Chair, proposed to ASEAN as a Concept Paper on ASEAN Border Management Cooperation Roadmap.

The ASEAN Border Management Cooperation Roadmap was adopted in September 2021, outlining 9 priorities that ASEAN Member States can take action together to develop policy and practical collaboration to address transnational crimes at and along borders. The aim is to strike a balance between promoting seamless economic activities and growth without compromising border security.