Senior officials are now waiting for a Burmese response to their complaint about the incident.

Soldiers from the Mae Hong Son-based Infantry Taskforce 7 were sent to Pang Mapha District's Tambon Na Pukom, where unidentified gunmen attacked the helicopter on Sunday.

Colonel Somsak Nilbhanjerdkul, commander of the Chiang Mai-based Pha Muang Taskforce, would not confirm the mobilisation or whether he was trying to send a message to the attackers.

Although he stopped short of accusing Burmese troops of shooting at the helicopter, he said he was waiting for a reply from the pariah state's authorities.

Somsak suggested the matter should discussed by the Thai-Burmese border committee, which was established to alleviate grievances at a local level.

He said the chopper had been forced to make an emergency landing after several rounds hit its exhaust.

Relations with Burma have hit a low because of border clashes, usually between Thai soldiers and pro-Burmese ethnic militias that rely heavily on the trade of opium and other illicit drugs to maintain their militias.

Armed clashes between Thais and trespassing ethnic armies often drew Burmese government soldiers into the action, resulting in political deadlock between Bangkok and Rangoon.

The Nation

Chiang Mai