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| Malaysia-Thailand border crossing (Image: Flickr User - Shenil Leong) |
By Prashanth Parameswaran
The two countries will jointly construct a barrier against cross-border crime.
Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to build a wall along their common border next year amid growing concerns about human trafficking.
The 640-kilometer Malaysia-Thailand border has long been the site of transnational crime, including the rampant smuggling of weapons, drugs, and people. In May, the issue sparked international furor following the discovery of mass graves in jungle camps in Malaysia near the border used by suspected smugglers of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar (See: “Can Southeast Asia Tackle its Human Trafficking Problem?”). Similar graves were discovered in Thailand, which again received the lowest ranking in the U.S. annual trafficking report this year.
On Monday, Malaysian Armed Forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd. Zin announced that the two countries had reached a pact to build a border wall at the General Border Committee Meeting.
Read the full story at The Diplomat