MALAYSIA and Thailand have agreed to jointly build a border wall in Thailand’s restive southern province of Songkhla to combat cross-border crime, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday.

The 11km wall will be built at Dan Nok-Dan Sadao in Songkhla, with details to be worked out later, said Thai Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, following a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart, Hishammuddin Hussein, in Bangkok.

According to the Bangkok Post, the proposed border wall is expected to stem the flow of smuggled drugs, weapons and petrol, and reduce human trafficking between the two countries. Thailand and Malaysia share a porous, 640km common border.

The report also stated that Thailand expressed a willingness to work with Malaysia on information-sharing with regards to terror threats in the region.

On the issue of dual citizenship, Prawit said a memorandum of understanding was expected to be signed on the issue soon.

The holding of both Thai and Malaysian citizenship is often regarded as a legal loophole, allowing people suspected of carrying out attacks in southern Thailand to easily slip across the border into Malaysia to hide. – March 17, 2018.