Malaysia has pledged to support Thailand's efforts to continue peace talks with an umbrella organisation of insurgent movements in Thailand's deep South, according to defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich.
Lt Gen Kongcheep yesterday cited results of bilateral talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon and his Malaysian counterpart, Haji Mohamad bin Sabu, held on Friday on the sidelines of the 12th Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM-Plus) in Singapore.
Gen Prawit held a series of meetings with his counterparts from Asean nations and US Defence Secretary James Mattis, said Lt Gen Kongcheep.
The Malaysian defence minister said the southern peace talks were of interest to Malaysia because the situation in the far South affected Malaysia's security as well, said Lt Gen Kongcheep.
Malaysia also said it was ready to continue with Thai-Malaysian mechanisms to solve border problems and develop the border area of the countries, he said.
In addition, the Malaysian defence minister also thanked Thailand for its support of Malaysia's past suppression of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), a political party in the Federation of Malaya and Malaysia. The CPM was founded in 1930 and laid down its arms in 1989.
In a bilateral talk with the US defence secretary, Gen Prawit was assured that it stands ready to support the Royal Thai Armed Forces to upgrade their capacity in terms of armaments, training and military exchange programmes and other forms of military cooperation, said Lt Gen Kongcheep.
The US now believes that Thailand is heading on the path to a full restoration of democracy, he said, adding the US will also back Thailand's role as the chair of the ADMM-Plus in 2020, he said.
In another bilateral talk, Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe told Gen Prawit that China is ready to boost its military partnership and relations with Thailand, said Lt Gen Kongcheep.
China also supports Thailand taking the role of the chair of the 2020 ADMM-Plus, he said.
The Chinese defence minister has extended an invitation to Gen Prawit to visit China, according to Lt Gen Kongcheep.
New Zealand's defence minister, Ron Mark, told Gen Prawit that New Zealand is concerned about the escalating terrorist threat in many regions.
Meanwhile, newly-appointed army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong yesterday set off for the southern border provinces on a three-day visit to the region.
