TAIPEI — The decades-old ethnic conflict along Burma’s eastern frontier took a surprising turn on Thursday when soldiers of the Burmese army in pursuit of Karen rebels mistakenly crossed the border into Taiwan, international security experts say.
A military analyst in Bangkok said around two dozen Burmese soldiers had been chasing a small band of Karen National Liberation Army fighters near the border when they made the common error of confusing the like-sounding countries, and entered the small island nation of Taiwan rather than nearby Thailand.
Apparently unaware of the difference between the two countries, the soldiers believed the Taiwanese to be Thais for several days as they ransacked small townships in southwestern Chiayi County while hunting for the rebels, according to a source in Taipei.
“Only when attempting to cross back into their country and finding themselves on the East China Sea did they realize their error,” the source said.
Witnesses described a humorous scene when the confused soldiers discovered their mistake, grinning sheepishly and apologizing politely to the local citizens. They later inquired about the local cuisine and visited a Taoist temple while awaiting a military transport jet from Rangoon to take them home.
