SCMP-Thais believe Burma border att

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Subject: SCMP-Thais believe Burma border attack 'imminent'

South China Morning Post
Wednesday, October 13, 1999
THAILAND

Thais believe Burma border attack 'imminent'
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Thailand

Updated at 3.50pm:
The Thai army remained on high alert on Wednesday against a buildup of
Burmese troops along the border, with officers saying they expected an
incursion at any time.
Tensions between the countries have risen sharply since student activists
from Burma seized their country's embassy in Bangkok two weeks ago and held
some 50 people hostage.

Under a deal to secure the release of the captives, Thai authorities flew
the hostage-takers by helicopter to freedom at a refugee camp along the
border, where Burmese troops are now massing.

Thai military officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, cited
signals-intelligence intercepts supplied by rebels opposed to Burma's
military government as saying the troop deployment was almost complete.

The war machine in Burma boasts 425,000 troops, though only a small fraction
would be deployed.

The target is expected to be anti-government rebels and camps sheltering
some of the 100,000 refugees who have fled to Thailand to escape suppression
of anti-government ethnic rebels.

The Burmese armed forces have boosted their troop strength and modernised
equipment since crushing nationwide protests against military rule a decade
ago.

They are backed by backed by modern arms purchases from China, including
shoulder-fired air-defence missiles that could neutralise air power from
Thailand.

Thailand's armed forces commander, General Mongkol Ampornpisit, told The
Associated Press on Tuesday that the Thai military was ''ready for any
situation or threat that might arise on the border.''

The biggest fear is that Burma forces engaged with guerrillas could pursue
them across the border into Thailand, which would almost immediately bring
them into contact with camps of refugees.

The threat comes at a time when Thailand's best unit - the 31st Infantry
Regiment - is being deployed to East Timor as part of the UN-blessed
international peacekeeping force.