A well known defence expert has applauded Cabinet's decision to have soldiers patrol South Africa's borders.

Cabinet on Wednesday announced that police officers will eventually be removed from this detail, as the South African National Defence Force is better placed to fight cross-border crime.

This development signal's a major shift in government policy.

Government spokesperson Themba Maseko says while the task of guarding the nation's borders will be shared for now, the job is one for the army.

"The defence force may just have the capability to deal with especially organised crime which is taking place in our border posts."

Military analyst with Jane's Defence Weekly, Helmut Heitman says the move is a good one.

"Doing border patrol or protection work is excellent field training, practical training for soldiers. It prepares them for a lot of the things that they would encounter in a peacekeeping operation or a real war; so instead of spending a lot of money on field training exercises, you can actually use them practically to protect the border."