Wat Tham Krabok was believed to have served as a possible center of armed resistance to the Lao government with a limited number of weapons allegedly smuggled to some Hmong and Laotian insurgents and opposition groups in Laos. Responding to these concerns, the Thai military deployed hundreds of troops to surround Wat Tham Krabok in April 2003. This action was undertaken despite elements of the Thai military—many of whose officers were sympathetic to the Laotian and Hmong dissidents, insurgents and resistance fighter groups—allegedly, continuing to actively help to provide weapons and logistical support to Laotian and Hmong groups in Laos who oppose the communist government in Vientiane. The Thai military and police fenced in the Hmong at Wat Tham Krabok with concertina wire in an effort to monitor and control entrance to it, before they were able to immigrate to the US in 2004 and 2005. The area is no longer fenced. Wat Tham Krabok's role as an alleged conduit for weapons and military support to Lao and Hmong military insurgents and dissident groups ended at Wat Tham Krabok and elsewhere in Thailand.