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Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy.</s>BANGKOK: Fighting terrorism and cracking down on smuggling across their restive border will top the agenda at Friday’s talks between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Thailand’s junta, officials said.

Thailand’s three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces are plagued by a bloody insurgency, and the porous 650-kilometer (400 mile) border with Malaysia is also a crime hotbed, criss-crossed by human traffickers, drug mules and weapon smugglers.

During Najib’s state visit to Bangkok, the Malaysian leader and his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-O-Cha will discuss building a new stretch of fence along a small section of the border, according to Thailand’s defense ministry spokesman.

“It is an effort to prevent the smuggling of contraband, human trafficking and increase security,” Major General Kongcheep Tantravanich told Agence-France Presse, adding that the idea is still at an early stage.

Muslim insurgents are thought to routinely slip across the border to seek refuge from Thai troops seeking to quell their fight for greater autonomy from the Buddhist-majority state.

The insurgency has killed thousands of people, mostly civilians, since the most recent wave of rebellion erupted in 2004.

The Malaysian premier’s visit comes amid a flare-up of violence in the region, with three deadly bombings in the past month.

While the violence has historically been contained to the southernmost provinces, analysts believe the rebels were also behind a string of bombings that struck Thai tourist towns further north in August.

The Thai and Malaysian leaders will discuss ways to advance dialogue with the insurgents, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Malaysia is currently hosting talks between the Thai government and a group that claims to represent the insurgents, with the latest meeting held in Kuala Lumpur last week.

However the talks have yet to bear any fruit and the recent uptick in violence suggests the rebel negotiators have little sway over fighters on the ground.

In comments published in the Bangkok Post Friday, Najib stressed the two governments’ commitment to fending off terrorism and said Malaysia was “honored to be the facilitator of the peace process.”

The two leaders are also looking to increase trade and strengthen economic ties during Najib’s visit.</s>Thailand and Malaysia will discuss plans to build a wall along their shared border, Thai officials said on Thursday, a day before Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to meet his counterpart in Bangkok.

People-trafficking and the smuggling of drugs and weapons are among the transnational crimes that have flourished along the 640km (398 mile) Thai-Malay border, until a crackdown by Thailand last year disrupted regional trafficking routes.

Najib is to meet Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on an official visit that will focus on security cooperation and investment.

The wall is on the agenda for the meeting, said a Thai foreign ministry official.

“It will be on the agenda during Najib’s visit, but it will not be the biggest item on the agenda,” foreign ministry spokesman Chinawut Setawat said at a regional meeting in the Laotian capital of Vientiane.

“It is still at the memorandum of understanding phase,” said Colonel Yutthanam Petchmuang, a spokesman for Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command.

Malaysia’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

Najib’s visit follows three deadly bomb attacks in southern Thailand over the past month, including a wave of bombs in tourist towns in August that Thai police have linked to Muslim separatists operating in the country’s south.

The porous Thai-Malay border has also been a site for the smuggling of weapons, drugs and illegal oil.

After taking power in a May 2014 coup, Thailand’s junta promised what it called a “zero tolerance” policy of human trafficking and launched a nationwide crackdown on vice and crime.

In January 2004, a shadowy separatist insurgency by ethnic Malays resurfaced in Thailand, after simmering for decades. Since then, 6,500 people have been killed, says Deep South Watch, a body that monitors the violence.

Thailand’s three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were once part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate until they were annexed by Thailand in 1909.

Two issues in particular have spurred the interest of Malaysia and Thailand in building a border wall, said Srisompop Jitpiromsri, director of Deep South Watch.

“The first is to stop the flow of illegal goods, whether it is petrol, drugs or human trafficking,” he said. “The second reason is that insurgents operating in Thailand regularly cross the border and use Malaysia as a safety base.”

Yet, it remains unclear how far the wall will reduce crime.

“There are still many logistical issues to address before building the wall,” Srisompop said. “It’s a tremendously long area.”</s>The leaders of Thailand and Malaysia agreed on Friday to increase intelligence sharing on security and to move forward the possibly of building a border wall to combat transnational terrorism and smuggling.

People-trafficking and the smuggling of contraband, including drugs and petrol, have flourished along the Thai-Malay border for years until a crackdown by Thai officials on human traffickers caused some of the routes to shut down last year.

Analysts say that separatist insurgents operating in Thailand's deep south use Malaysia as a base to launch and plan their attacks.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters that security remained "a very important matter" for both countries and that there was an agreement to increase intelligence gathering and sharing to apprehend cross-border terrorism.

"We both face security issues including the fight against terrorism, human trafficking and illegal smuggling, that is why we need to address these issues seriously," said Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Mr Najib said that both sides had discussed the construction and extension of a border wall with details to be worked out.

"The matter is under consideration but we need to determine the physical dimensions of the wall or fence as well as the sharing of the costs," he said.

The news comes as France and the UK announced their intention to build a 'Great Wall of Calais' to keep migrants out of the French port and Donald Trump continues to promote his US-Mexico barrier.

Mr Najib's visit follows three deadly bomb attacks in southern Thailand over the past month, including a wave of bombings in tourist towns in August which Thai police have linked to Muslim separatists.

Analysts say the attacks were carried out by a separatist insurgent group known as Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) after having been left out of peace talks between the Thai government and a separate separatist umbrella group in Malaysia.

Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat were once part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate until they were annexed by Thailand in 1909.

Since 2004, Muslim separatists operating in the area have waged a bloody insurgency which has claimed more than 6500 lives, according to the Deep South Watch which monitors the conflict.
Elections in Malaysia are to occur in 2017 as efforts to challenge the legitimacy of Najib Razak mount.