Malaysia welcomes new southern peace panel chief
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia welcomes the appointment of the new head of southern Thailand’s peace process panel and will give its full support to efforts to bring peace to the region, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
He said Malaysia will work closely with Thanut Suvarnananda, the newly appointed chief of the Peace Dialogue Panel of the Royal Thai Government.
“We are well aware of several incidents that had occurred and we believe this appointment will bring peace and stability to southern Thailand.
“We will continue to give our fullest support,” he told reporters after the official visit of Thai Defence Minister Lt-Gen Adul Boonthumjaroen here yesterday.
Mohamed Khaled also said Malaysia and Thailand will continue enhancing cooperation to curb smuggling, illegal border crossings and other cross-border criminal activities, while respecting Thailand’s sovereignty over its domestic security affairs.
“Incidents such as bomb attacks in southern Thailand are internal matters. We should not interfere directly because they concern Thailand’s sovereignty.
“But for the process of the peace talks, Thailand has asked us to assist and we have our Malaysia government facilitator for Southern Thailand Peace Dialogue Datuk Rabin Basir, who is assisting to bring the concerned parties for discussions,” he added.
On border control cooperation, Mohamed Khaled said Malaysia is slated to host the current iteration of the Malaysia-Thailand General Border Committee at the end of the year.
“Discussions will cover matters related to border security, joint operations between the armed forces of both countries, efforts to promote socio-economic development in border areas and coordination of disaster management in those areas.” he said.
On industrial partnership, he said both countries have also agreed to expedite the completion of a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
“One of the key areas of emphasis is that once the MOU is signed, we will be able to focus on cooperation in developing the local defence industry. This is among the main matters that have been highlighted,” he said.
On the Thailand and Cambodia conflict, Mohamed Khaled said Malaysia applauded the reduced tension in the area, adding that the Philippines, which is the current Asean chair, will play its role in the matter.
“We have handed this matter over to the Philippines, and we hope that they will be able to play the role that we have previously undertaken.
“We also stressed that whatever tensions or conflicts may arise should be resolved in the Asean way, that is through engagement, dialogue and discussions,” he said.
