Bangkok  - Thailand will propose at an upcoming South-East Asian summit to set up a regional rice reserve in the kingdom to ensure food security, media reports aid Thursday.

The draft proposal will be presented at the 14th summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be held in Hua Hin beach resort, 130 kilometres south-west of the Thai capital, from February 27 to March 1, the Bangkok Post newspaper said.

Under the proposal the 10 ASEAN states plus their three main trading partners - China, Japan and South Korea - would agree to stockpile 350,000 tons of rice in Thailand to serve as an emergency stockpile for unexpected events such as natural disasters.

Thailand is the world's leading exporter of rice, with exports amounting to nearly 10 million tons last year.

Operating costs for the programme will require an estimated 1.36 billion baht (40 million dollars) per year, expected to come from the World Bank or Asian Development Bank.

Thailand has been operating a pilot rice reserve project since 2002, which has delivered emergency supplies of rice to Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Myanmar, said Monchon Jiumcharoen, deputy secretary of the Office of Agricultural Economics.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (dpa)