Pubdate: Sun, 20 May 2001 Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2001 Calgary Herald Contact: http://www.calgaryherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66 Author: Michael Sheridan, Times of London U.S. TROOPS TO AID THAIS IN WAR ON DRUG MILITIA BANGKOK - The United States is sending special forces and Black Hawk helicopters to the jungle battlegrounds of northern Thailand to help Thai army units confronting a Chinese-armed drug militia across the Burmese border. It is one of the most conspicuous military and political commitments to a southeast Asian state by Washington in recent years. And as Ahu Rongji, China's prime minister, arrived in Bangkok Saturday, it also signalled a new American determination to counter Chinese influence in the region. As many as 100 soldiers from the U.S. 1st Special Forces Group are to join the elite Thai unit Task Force 399 at a base near Chiang Mai, just 190 kilometres across Burmese territory from the nearest Chinese border. The land between is controlled by the 15,000 strong United Wa State Army, an ethnic militia described as the world's largest armed group of drug traffickers. The Wa, in league with elements of Burma's military junta, are flooding southeast Asia with heroin and methamphetamine from laboratories a stone's throw from Thai soil. Thai officials believe there are up to 60 laboratories in Burma, and estimate that this year the Wa may smuggle out 600 million tablets of methamphetamine, a powerful stimulant. Artillery duels and armed clashes have erupted along the border as the Thai Third Army has fought both drug traffickers and Burmese army units. The U.S. special forces will train Thai commandos, and two Black Hawk helicopters will boost their interception capabilities. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager