The World

Two Japanese veterans of World War II reportedly will be among the remnants of the Communist Party of Malaya who will surrender to Thai forces in the next two months, military officials said in Bangkok. An army officer involved in the surrender procedure confirmed a report that 15 Japanese war veterans had joined the party in 1948 and that two--both now in their 70s--had survived 40 years in the jungle. The party waged a guerrilla war against Japanese troops in Malaysia, then fought against the British after the war ended. Their forces were eventually defeated, but a few thousand fled to the Thai-Malaysian border area, where they have continued to harass both governments for almost four decades.