KL, Bangkok open 3-day border talks

KL, Bangkok open 3-day border talks

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Malaysia and Thailand opened talks yesterday to discuss smuggling, the movement of people and common development of their 647-kilometer border.

The first meeting in three years of the General Border Committee is being conducted by Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchayudh and Malaysian Defense Minister Syed Hamid Albar. With large delegations including military leaders, they plan to issue a statement of agreement at the end of the three-day conference.

During Chavalit's visit to Malaysia in February, he and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad agreed to jointly develop border areas that are difficult to demarcate.

The two countries then signed an agreement March 8 for the Golok River Mouth Improvement project, aimed at developing the area and also determining a more precise boundary between the two countries.

The talks that began yesterday, shortly after Chavalit's arrival, are aimed at following up those agreements and improving cooperation on other border matters.

The General Border Committee was set up in the 1970s to counter the communist threat along the common border. Malaysia and Thailand also conducted joint naval, air and army exercises annually under the auspices of the committee.