All vehicles need special passes

Col Piyapong Wongchan, deputy chief of Internal Security Operations Command Region 4, said vehicle owners who wanted special stickers to facilitate their passage through checkpoints could contact village heads in Thalang and Kathu districts.

More than 40,000 vehicle owners have already received the stickers, he said, adding the distribution of stickers will be completed Thursday.

The Asean meeting and will be held in Phuket between July 17-23.

Security before, during and after the meetings will be tight as the Cabinet on Thursday moved to enforce the Internal Security laws from July 10-24, aimed at preventing reoccurence of the disruption by pro-Thaksin protesters.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said during his weekly TV talk that many VIPs would attend the meetings and he wished the Thai public to play good hosts, especially people living in Phuket.

The meeting would help stimulate tourism for the island.

Abhisit said intelligence reports showed that "certain groups of people" are still trying to organise protests to disrupt meetings as happened with the incident in Pattaya.