Thai army chief visits Malaysia March 11-12

BANGKOK, March 11 (TNA) - Thai Army Chief General Udomdej Sitabutr is paying a two-day visit to Malaysia, scheduled for March 11-12, aimed mainly to promote bilateral relations between the Thai and Malaysian militaries. General Udomdej, who is also Deputy Defence Minister, told reporters before his trip that Malaysian Army Chief General Raja Mohamed Affandi bin Raja Mohamed Noor invited him to pay the visit for mutual military benefits, while also marking over 58 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries. General Udomdej said military cooperation between Thailand and Malaysia has been sound, covering joint exercises, and his ongoing trip to Kuala Lumpur is also aimed to further upgrade the relations, covering security intelligence of Thai and Malaysian armies, and prepare joint operations and patrols along the common border. Accompanied by his entourage, the Thai army chief noted that he will also inspect development projects for border villages, border reforestation and the ongoing construction of the border fence. According to the Thai army chief, he will not discuss peace negotiations between representatives of the Thai government and those of insurgent groups in the Thai far South, which Malaysia acts as the facilitator, because Royal Thai Army Chief Adviser General Aksara Kerdpol is handling the peace process. The Thai army chief revealed, however, that Malaysia assigns its special branch police and its national intelligence agency to take charge of helping find solutions to the violence-plagued Thai deep South, while the Malaysian Army supports the mission by helping check people crossing the border, the cooperation of which is believed to help control violent unrest in the southernmost Thai region. (TNA)