Malaysia will work with Thailand’s new peace dialogue chief to advance peace and stability in southern Thailand, says defence minister.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will work closely with Thanut Suvarnananda, the newly appointed chief of the Peace Dialogue Panel of the Royal Thai Government, to advance ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability to southern Thailand.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said Malaysia welcomed Thanut’s appointment earlier this year, expressing confidence that it would help advance the peace process through close cooperation between the two countries.
“The Thai government has informed us of the appointment of the new peace dialogue chief, and we welcome the appointment.
“We support efforts to ensure that southern Thailand remains peaceful. With the new appointment, we hope to make the peace process a success and achieve the objectives we are striving for,” he told reporters after the official visit of Thai Defence Minister Lieutenant General Adul Boonthumjaroen here today.
Malaysia’s facilitator for the Southern Thailand Peace Dialogue is Datuk Rabin Basir.
Commenting on the security situation in the restive region, he stressed that Malaysia’s role is limited to facilitating the peace process, while military operations and domestic security matters fall entirely under Thailand’s sovereignty.
Mohamed Khaled also said he and his Thai counterpart had agreed to step up efforts to curb smuggling activities and prevent the cross-border movement of subversive elements through the Malaysia-Thailand General Border Committee (GBC).
He said Malaysia will host the 57th GBC Meeting this year, which is expected to discuss various issues, including border security, joint military operations, socio-economic development in border areas and disaster management.
Mohamed Khaled also said Malaysia supports Thailand’s continued commitment to resolving its border issue with Cambodia bilaterally through the ‘ASEAN Way’, which emphasises peaceful dialogue.
He said the matter has also been referred to the Philippines as the 2026 ASEAN Chair, with the hope that it will play an appropriate role in easing any regional tensions.
In addition, he said the meeting also aligned the positions of both countries ahead of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus, which will be held in the Philippines.
He added that Malaysia and Thailand had also agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this year to strengthen regional security and expand cooperation in the development of the two countries’ domestic defence industries.
