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Bitter row continues between Burma and Thailand over drugs
A bitter row between Thailand and Burma over the drugs trade along their border has flared again -- marring the start of Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai's first official visit to Rangoon.
Mr Surakiart's trip, on the heels of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Rangoon, was aimed at settling differences between the two neighbours
The war of words began in February when fighting between rival ethnic militias along the border sparked a rare clash between the two national armies.
High-level talks went some way to easing the tension, but renewed conflict in the border region in recent days has threatened to cause a further deterioration in relations.
Thailand's new Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra fired the opening salvo in the debate early this year by declaring a "war on drugs" and ordering officials to find ways to close down the narcotics trade.
Some 700 million methamphetamines pills made in jungle refineries inside Burma are estimated to make their way into Thailand each year.
2/05/01 8:01:49 | ABC Radio Australia News
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