The government today said there are no training camps for Thai Muslim separatists in its territory, and constant patrols are carried out to ensure its border remains secure.

"If there are allegations that there are training camps for groups that can threaten the security of southern Thailand, I can give assurances that there are no training camps on the Malaysian side," Najib Abdul Razak, deputy prime minister, told reporters.

"We have control of our border area. If there are criminals, we will be able to detect them," he added.

Najib, who is also defence minister, said the military and the police were carrying out regular patrols to ensure its northern border with southern Thailand was safe and secure.

The Bangkok Post had reported that 50 Thai women were being trained in Malaysia to replace male insurgents captured by security forces in restive southern Thailand, where an Islamic insurgency has been raging.

Quoting an unnamed Thai military intelligence source, it said the women had been sent for a one-month course in Malaysia's northern Kelantan state, which borders Thailand, to be trained in bomb-making and intelligence gathering.

Predominantly Muslim Malaysia last month rejected a claim by Thailand that Thai restaurants here are funding a separatist movement.

Baseless allegations

Residents in Thailand's southernmost provinces are mostly ethnic Malay and Muslim, sharing more culturally with their neighbors across the border than with the rest of Buddhist Thailand.

Deputy Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow described the allegation by Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont as "baseless".

Separatist unrest and other violence has marked the region since January 2004, killing more than 1,500 people.

The uprising in Thailand's south has become a major irritant to bilateral relations, triggering several spats between the two governments.