AFP June 28, 2002 AFP: Thailand-Myanmar ties hit rock bottom: Thai PM The Thai-Myanmar border crisis and subsequent war of words has brought ties between the historic adversaries to a new low, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday. "I don't think the situation will get further out of hand because it can't get any worse than this," Thaksin told reporters at Government House. The latest verbal spat between the two neighbours followed the Myanmar junta's shunning of a Thai protest that Yangon had insulted Thailand's monarchy in a series of articles in official media there. Thaksin said Myanmar had yet to respond but that he was still keeping the door open for dialogue. On Thursday, in what appeared to be his strongest condemnation of Yangon since the crisis began, Thaksin came out in support of the defence ministry's retaliation to a series of insults and said relations between the two sides "could be at a crossroad." Meanwhile Thai Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh blasted one of the authors of the articles as a "national enemy". "I will give him a slap on the head if we ever meet," he told reporters. Thai press reports have identified the author as Ma Tin Win, a woman. Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters his ministry had blacklisted both the author and Maung Maung, editor of the New Light of Myanmar. Chavalit, who is known to have close ties with the junta, said the Thai military will continue its own propaganda war against Myanmar through military media channels after he repeatedly asked the junta not to attack Thailand's most revered institution, the monarchy. "They can scold me as much as they want, I will forgive, but insulting our monarchy we can not forgive," he said. Relations soured badly last month following clashes along the border during which ethnic Shan rebels overran Myanmar military bases. Myanmar accused Thailand of providing support to the rebels, a claim the Thai military has consistently denied. After both countries exchanged protests on May 20, Yangon slammed shut its border checkpoints with Thailand, banned official visiting delegations, and launched a patriotic tirade against Thailand in its press that is still going strong. Myanmar has issued a ban on mentioning Thailand in the press, with papers instead referring to "Yodaya", a centuries-old name for the Thai kingdom whose capital Ayutthaya was sacked by the Burmese in 1767. The Thai military has said Myanmar troops have made incursions into its territory as it mounted attacks against the rebels. About a dozen Myanmar troops and their ethnic Wa allies were killed in a pre-dawn clash Thursday after they sneaked across the border intending to attack the Shan State Army base from Thai territory, the Bangkok Post cited a Thai border security source as saying.