Malaysia, Thailand To Deepen Defence Ties For Regional Peace

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Thailand have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening defence cooperation and shared strategic interests to safeguard regional peace, stability and prosperity.

Malaysia’s Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the commitment was reached during his bilateral meeting with Thailand’s Defence Minister Lt Gen Adul Boonthumjaroen at Subang Air Base on Wednesday.

He said the meeting reflected the close ties and longstanding defence relations between the two neighbouring countries.

“During the meeting, Lt Gen Adul Boonthumjaroen shared the latest developments on the situation in Southern Thailand and assured that Thailand remains committed to working closely with Malaysia towards achieving lasting peace for mutual benefit,” he said in a statement today.

Mohamed Khaled welcomed the commitment and said Malaysia would continue to play a constructive role in enhancing defence cooperation with Thailand.

He expressed confidence that the strong relationship between both countries would remain an important foundation in addressing increasingly complex strategic challenges in the region.

Also present were Malaysia’s Chief of Defence Force Gen Malek Razak Sulaiman, Defence Ministry deputy secretary-general (Policy) Mohd Yani Daud and Malaysian Defence Intelligence Organisation (MDIO) director-general Lt Gen Fazal Abdul Rahman.

The Thai delegation included Thailand’s ambassador to Malaysia Lada Phumas and Royal Thai Armed Forces deputy chief of joint staff Gen Nuttapong Praokaev.
-- BERNAMA