Thailand’s repatriation of over 100 illegal immigrants to China earlier this month is in line with international practice and will help curb international terrorism, experts and scholars in Southeast Asian nations have said.

On July 9, Thailand repatriated to China a total of 109 illegal immigrants who had been on their way to Turkey, Syria or Iraq to wage holy war, according to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

Among the returnees, 13 had fled China after being implicated in terrorist activities, the ministry said in a statement.

… Oh Ei Sun, a senior research fellow with Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, said many countries including the United States, China, Thailand and Turkey are victims of terrorism.

“In the face of our common enemy, terrorism, all countries should abandon their narrow-minded notion of competition and fully cooperate with each other,” said Oh, who was also a former political secretary to the Malaysian prime minister.

… Stefanie Kam, an associate research fellow with S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Singapore Nanyang Technological University, said human smuggling has become a common challenge for Southeast Asian nations.

“There is a need to enhance international security cooperation and collaboration between China and Southeast Asian states affected by the threat of terrorism and militancy especially in the area of counter-terrorism, so as to deter terrorists from building capabilities and to disrupt the flow of militants into Syria,” Kam said.