HAT YAI, Thailand Thai and Malaysian cabinet ministers met under extremely tight security today to discuss regional terrorism as well as a planned gas pipeline that sparked violent protests in this southern city.

Some 5,000 security forces, including army commandos and air force personnel, were deployed to prevent a repeat of Friday's clashes between police and villagers demonstrating against the pipeline which left dozens injured.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Malaysian counterpart Dr Mahathir Mohamad held a separate meeting before joining their cabinets for an informal round-table discussion.