BANGKOK, March 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Thailand has dispatched over 1,
000 soldiers, artillery and two light attack planes to its
northern border with Myanmar after a clash in which a Thai soldier
was said to be killed by an armed Myanmar ethnic group Monday, the
Nation TV Channel reported Wednesday.
   Army sources said a Thai border patrol team was attacked by a
group of militants of the Wa, a Myanmar minor nationality, Monday
in the Thai side of the border in Chiang Mai province, 900
kilometers north of here.
   The fighting lasted for nearly four hours and a Thai soldier
was shot dead.
   Thai officials said the incident is "very serious" because it
forced the Thai government to cancel a scheduled visit by the
Queen of Thailand to a nearby border village Monday afternoon.
   Thai Third Army Commander Udomchai Ongkasing who oversees the
northern border said his troops are ready to launch counter-
attacks against "intruders from other side of the border."
   Thai officials has sent a protest letter over the Monday
incident to a local-level Thai-Myanmar township border committee
and informed Myanmar border troops to ensure security.
   Meanwhile, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he has
ordered Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to inform the
Myanmar government about the incident and to take "drastic
measures to remove all intruders from the Thai soil."
   Thai media reported that some armed Myanmar ethnic groups often
cross the border to enter Thailand, leading to clashes with Thai
border troops.  Enditem