Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to build four new military posts along their shared border as Malaysia deployed a fourth battalion to the area following a wave of violence in southern Thailand, media reports said yesterday.

"We have deployed an extra battalion at our common border, usually we have three battalions stationed there and now we have deployed another," Malaysia's army chief General Mohamad Azumi Mohamed was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Two new joint surveillance posts in each country had also been set up along the border to heighten security, he said.

"We are discussing with them (Thailand) on how to patrol the border to check the activities of elements who could threaten the security of both countries," he said.

"Both sides will meet regularly for exchange of information and intelligence."

Malaysia and Thailand have pledged closer cooperation to curb further attacks in Thailand's southern provinces, which are separated from Malaysia only by a porous border and can be easily crossed without passing through checkpoints.

Not a haven

Thai authorities have said they believe those responsible for the violence include separatists with dual nationalities who hide out in Malaysia before sneaking back into Thailand and launching attacks. Malaysia has repeatedly said it would not become a haven for terrorists.

The violence, which began with a raid on an army base in Narathiwat province that left four soldiers dead in January, escalated dramatically on April 28 when Thai police and military killed 108 suspected Muslim rebels who launched attacks in three provinces in the bloodiest day of violence in recent Thai history.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation but about five percent of the population is Muslim, and most live in the five southern provinces bordering mainly-Muslim Malaysia.

The region was plagued by separatist violence until the 1980s when the government managed to curb militant activity, but in the last few years violence has flared again. - AFP