Malaysia has reaffirmed its commitment to work with Thailand to resolve the long-running southern insurgency, Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said.
Mr Sihasak’s comments followed his working visit to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday and Monday.
His trip followed Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s official visit to Malaysia on July 9-10, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
In Malaysia, Mr Sihasak met Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan, Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, to discuss bilateral cooperation, especially in the areas of border security, transnational crime, border connectivity and development of border areas to enhance the well-being of the people.
He also held a meeting with the Director-General of Malaysia’s National Security Council (MKN), Datuk Raja Nushirwan bin Zainal Abidin.
The two discussed border security, including closer intelligence sharing and coordination on building security fences along the border to prevent transnational crime and other illegal activities.
Both sides also discussed cooperation relating to the peace dialogue process for Thailand’s southern border provinces, for which Malaysia serves as facilitator.
On border development, Mr Sihasak followed up on discussions between the prime ministers of Thailand and Malaysia and aimed to increase cooperation on projects.
“Both sides have their own plans but lack coordination. Both sides agreed to coordinate to avoid redundant or overlapping work.
“We need to lay out all the plans to ensure we are working in the same direction,” he added.
Mr Sihasak also informed Malaysia that there would be no change to the position of head of the Peace Dialogue Panel for the southern border provinces, currently held by Thanat Suwannanon, Director of the National Intelligence Agency.
The minister said Malaysia’s choice of an individual to facilitate the peace talks has to be suitable and capable of driving the negotiations forward while understanding the situation on the ground.
The 75 incidents across Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla on Aug 22-23 should be read as more than another eruption of violence in a conflict lasting more than two decades.