United Wa State Army
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The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ),
abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the
United Wa State Party The United Wa State Party (UWSP) is the ruling party of Wa State, an autonomous region in northern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It was founded on 3 November 1989 as a merger between the Burma National United Party (BNUP) and several smaller, no ...
(UWSP), the ''de facto'' ruling party of
Wa State Wa State, my, ဝပြည်နယ် is an autonomous self-governing polity in Myanmar (Burma). It is ''de facto'' independent from the rest of the country and has its own political system, administrative divisions and army.29 December 2 ...
(officially known as the
Wa Self-Administered Division The Wa Self-Administered Division ( my, ဝ ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရ တိုင်း ) is an autonomous self-administered division in Myanmar (Burma). Its official name was announced by decre ...
) in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. It is a well-equipped
ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
army of an estimated 20,000–30,000 Wa soldiers, led by Bao Youxiang. The UWSA was formed after the collapse of the armed wing of the
Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is a clandestine communist party in Myanmar (Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fought ag ...
(CPB) in 1989 . The UWSA announced its territory as the "Wa State Government Special Administrative Region" on 1 January 2009. The ''de facto'' President is Bao Youxiang, and the Vice President is Xiao Minliang. Although the
Government of Myanmar Myanmar ( also known as Burma) operates ''de jure'' as a unitary assembly-independent republic under its 2008 constitution. On 1 February 2021, Myanmar's military took over the government in a coup, causing ongoing anti-coup protests. Po ...
does not officially recognise the
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of Wa State, the
Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
(Myanmar Armed Forces) has frequently allied with the UWSA to fight against
Shan nationalist The Shan people ( shn, တႆး; , my, ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; ), also known as the Tai Long, or Tai Yai are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in th ...
militia groups, such as the
Shan State Army - South Shan may refer to: People *Shan (surname), or 单 in Chinese, a Chinese surname *Shan, a variant of the Welsh given name usually spelled Siân *Occasionally used as a short form of Shannen/ Shannon Ethnic groups *Shan people, Southeast Asian et ...
. Despite being ''de facto'' independent from Myanmar, the Wa State officially recognizes Myanmar's sovereignty over all of its territory.2011-10-13
缅甸佤邦竟然是一个山寨版的中国
, 军情观察
In 1989 the two parties signed a ceasefire agreement, and in 2013 signed a peace deal. As the largest non-state armed group in Myanmar, it has effectively led the
Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
(FPNCC) since 2017, representing nearly every pre- 2021 non-ceasefire signatory armed groups.


History

On 17 April 1989, ethnic Wa soldiers, among other groups, split from the
Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is a clandestine communist party in Myanmar (Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fought ag ...
(CPB) in a mutiny and ended the long-running
Communist insurgency in Burma The communist insurgency in Burma (present-day Myanmar) was waged primarily by the Communist Party of Burma (abbr. CPB; colloquially the "white flags") and the Communist Party (Burma) ("red flags") from 1948 to 1989. The conflict ended when th ...
. On 9 May 1989, the Burmese government signed a cease-fire agreement with UWSA, formally ending the conflict. The United Wa State Party was formed as a merger of the Burma National United Party and the non-communist Wa National Council in November 1989, following the CPB mutiny in spring of 1989. The UWSA is supported by
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, who gives the UWSA more support than to the Myanmar government. Until 1996 the United Wa State Army was involved in a conflict against the Shan
Mong Tai Army The Mong Tai Army ( my, မိုင်းတိုင်းတပ်မတော်; sometimes transcribed Muang Tai Army; abbreviated MTA), was an insurgent group consisting of soldiers from the Shan minority in Myanmar, founded in 1985 by ...
led by drug kingpin
Khun Sa Chinese: Chang Chi-fu () , other_name = th, จันทร์ จางตระกูล (Chan Changtrakul); Tun Sa; U Htet Aung , image = Khun Sa (9to12).jpg , alt = , caption = Khun Sa at his jungle headquarters ...
which suited the objectives of the
Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
in the area. During this conflict the Wa army occupied areas close to the Thai border, ending up with the control of two separate swathes of territory north and south of
Kengtung th , เชียงตุง , other_name = Kyaingtong , settlement_type = Town , imagesize = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = Myanmar , pushpin_label_position = left , ...
. UWSA is one of the 17 armed ceased fire groups that attended long National Convention orchestrated by Myanmar military. In August 2009, the United Wa State Army became involved in the
Kokang incident The Kokang incident was a violent series of skirmishes that broke out in August 2009 in Kokang in Myanmar's northern Shan State. Several clashes between the Burmese military junta forces (including the Myanmar Armed Forces, also known as Tatma ...
, a violent conflict with Burma's
military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
's
Myanmar Armed Forces Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include t ...
(Tatmadaw). This was the largest outbreak of fighting between ethnic armies and government troops since the signing of the cease-fire 20 years earlier. Myanmar signed a peace deal with the UWSA in 2013 in the leadup to the
Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), officially the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Ethnic Armed Organisations ( my, တစ်နိုင်ငံလုံး ပစ် ...
(NCA). However, the UWSA did not sign the NCA in 2015. In April 2017, China helped the UWSA establish a seven-member alliance called the
Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
(FPNCC), after the demise of another alliance, the United Nationalities Federal Council, in the wake of the NCA. Today, the UWSA maintains close links with FPNCC partners like the
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army , logo = Flag of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.svg , caption = Flag of the MNDAA , active= – present , leader = Peng Daxun , ideology = Kokang nationalism Separatism , partof = Myanmar National Truth and Justice Party ...
(MNDAA), the Ta'ang Army and the
Arakan Army The Arakan Army ( my, ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော်, Rakhaing Tattaw; abbreviated AA) is an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded on 10 April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United Lea ...
. The MNDAA is a
Kokang Kokang ( my, ကိုးကန့်; ) is a region in Myanmar (Burma). It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area i ...
CPB splinter group and both the Ta'ang Army and the Arakan Army fought alongside the MNDAA in
Kokang Kokang ( my, ကိုးကန့်; ) is a region in Myanmar (Burma). It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area i ...
in 2015. These three groups, among others, receives Chinese weapons from the UWSA either as gifts or purchases. The United Wa State Army also works with the
ULFA The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Assamese: সংযুক্ত মুক্তি বাহিনী, অসম) is an armed separatist organisation operating in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. It seeks to establish an indep ...
-ATF, an
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
resistant group based in Myanmar.


Leadership

The Burma National United Party (BNUP) and, later, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) was founded and led by
Chao Ngi Lai Chao may refer to: People * Chao (surname), various Chinese surnames (including 晁 and 巢, as well as non-Pinyin spellings) * Zhou (surname) (周), may also be spelled Chao * Zhao (surname) (趙/赵), may also be spelled Chao in Taiwan and Hon ...
, also spelt as Zhao Nyi-lai. After his stroke in 1995, Bao Youxiang, the military commander of the UWSA, took over leadership, while Chao remained the General-Secretary of the
United Wa State Party The United Wa State Party (UWSP) is the ruling party of Wa State, an autonomous region in northern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It was founded on 3 November 1989 as a merger between the Burma National United Party (BNUP) and several smaller, no ...
(UWSP) until he died at the age of 70 in 2009. Xuexian Ai, as the founder of the Wa National Council (WNC), was also instrumental in the merger establishing the UWSA with the BNUP. He formed the WNC with Hsang Maha Ngeun Wiang, his brother-in-law, in 1984. His group was the nucleus of UWSA's 171 Military Region near the Thai border. He died at the age of 78 in Mandalay on 29 October 2011. Today, Bao Youxiang remains the Commander-in-Chief, running the UWSA with his brothers Bao Youyi and Bao Youliang. Youyi, who became the deputy-general secretary of the UWSP in 2005, holds an important position in the army. Youliang manages the headquarters of the northern Wa hills in
Möng Mao Muang Mao, also spelled Möng Mao ( shn, မိူင်းမၢဝ်း; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥣᥝᥰ; my, မိုင်းမော; ) or the Mao Kingdom was an ethnic Tai state that controlled several smaller Tai states or chieftainsh ...
The first Deputy Commander-in-Chief was Li Ziru, an ethnically
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
former
Red Guard Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...
volunteer. He remained with the CPB through the 1970s when many Chinese CPB members returned to China and eventually joined the UWSA serving until his death in 2005. It is plausible that Li and other ethnic Chinese remained in the CPB splinter groups because
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
wanted to maintain influence even after the mutiny of 1989. The group's Deputy Commander-in-Chief today is
Zhao Zhongdang Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chinese ...
. In 2022, due to the advanced age of both Bao Youxiang and Zhao, Bao Youxiang's nephew Bao Ai Chan was promoted to be Deputy Commander-in-Chief alongside Zhao, who retains his position. The 2022 reshuffle will not largely change the administration and leadership of the UWSA, but signals a lesson learnt from the 1989 CPB leadership crises. The foreign affairs spokesperson role that Li Ziru played has been taken over by Zhao Guoan, another ethnically Chinese veteran. He took part in the Union Peace Conference – 21st Century Panglong peace talks in 2017 and 2018. Although he is from
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
, he was the only delegate comfortable speaking Burmese among the ethnic armies.


Territory

The towns of
Pangkham Pangkham (; zh, c=邦康, p=Bāngkāng; Wa: ''Bāng kam''), known before 1999 as Pangsang (), is a border town in Myanmar's far eastern Shan State. It is situated at a bend on the Hka River near the border with Yunnan Province, China, opposit ...
and Mong Pawk are within the area of this special region. The UWSA negotiated a
cease-fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
agreement with the
Burmese military Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
in the 1990s, and currently backs a
counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionari ...
strategy of the Myanmar Army against the
Shan State Army-South Shan may refer to: People *Shan (surname), or 单 in Chinese, a Chinese surname *Shan, a variant of the Welsh given name usually spelled Siân *Occasionally used as a short form of Shannen/ Shannon Ethnic groups *Shan people, Southeast Asian et ...
(SSA-S). The UWSA defied the
military regime A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
's recent demand to disarm and participate in the 2010
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative ...
, and instead proposed to declare the territory under their control as a special
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
region. According to 2008 constitution, six townships are designated as the
Wa Self-Administered Division The Wa Self-Administered Division ( my, ဝ ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရ တိုင်း ) is an autonomous self-administered division in Myanmar (Burma). Its official name was announced by decre ...
. Those are
Mongmao Mong Maoe ( Wa: weng Mēng Hmae; Shan (Dai Yai): ဝဵင်းမိူင်းမႂ်ႇ ''weng Moeng Hmaue'' ''(town of new territory)''; ; ) is the capital town of Mongmao Township of Shan State. It is under ''de facto'' administration of ...
, Pangwaun, Namphan, Pangkham (Pangsang),
Hopang Hopang is the capital of Hopang Township, Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It is also the government designated capital of the Wa Self-Administered Division. Geography Hopang is located in the valley of the Nam Ting River, a tributary of the Salwee ...
and
Matman Township Matman Township, also known as ''Metman Township'', is a township of the Wa Self-Administered Division of Shan State, formerly and conterminously part of Matman District. The capital of the township is Matman. History Historically most of the ar ...
. Although Mong Pawk is not part of it, but part of
Mong Yang Township Mong Yang Township ( shn, ၸႄႈဝဵင်းမိူင်းယၢင်း) is a township of Kengtong District (Chiang Tung District) in the Shan State of Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wiki ...
, the UWSA was strongly against to give away that area from its control because it serves as a link with its ally, the
National Democratic Alliance Army The National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) is an insurgent group in eastern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It is the armed wing of the Peace and Solidarity Committee (PSC). History The Mong La area had been under the control of several war ...
(NDAA) in Mongla. Hopang and Matman are not under UWSA control. UWSA announced its territory as Wa State Government Special Administrative Region in January 2009.


Business Operations

The cease-fire agreement allowed the United Wa State Army to freely expand their logistical operations with the
Burmese military Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
, including the trafficking of drugs to neighbouring Thailand and Laos. The Wa have used revenue generated from the sale of drugs to finance political and economic goals, like weapons and hospitals.


Drug Trafficking

In August 1990, government officials began drafting a plan to end drug production and trafficking in Wa State.The military created by drug
/ref> According to an interview with Wa officials in 1994, Bao Youyi (Tax Kuad Rang; also known as Bao Youyu) became wanted by the Chinese police for his involvement in drug trafficking. As a result, Bao Youxiang and Zhao Nyi-Lai went to
Cangyuan Va Autonomous County Cangyuan Va Autonomous County (; Wa language, Va: ) is under the administration of Lincang City, in the southwest of Yunnan province, China. Wa people, Wa/Va people are the main inhabitants here. Wa language is common here. Cangyuan Washan Airpor ...
of China and signed the Cangyuan Agreement with local officials, which stated that, "No drugs will go into the international society (from Wa State); no drugs will go into China (from Wa State); no drugs will go into Burmese government-controlled areas (from Wa State)." However, the agreement did not mention whether or not Wa State could sell drugs to insurgent groups. In 1997, the
United Wa State Party The United Wa State Party (UWSP) is the ruling party of Wa State, an autonomous region in northern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It was founded on 3 November 1989 as a merger between the Burma National United Party (BNUP) and several smaller, no ...
officially proclaimed that Wa State would be drug-free by the end of 2005. With the help of the United Nations and the Chinese government, many opium farmers in Wa State shifted to the production of rubber and tea. However, some poppy farmers continued to cultivate the flower outside of Wa State. Office of Foreign Assets Control listed 11 individuals and 16 companies that were "part of the financial and commercial network of designated significant foreign narcotics trafficker Wei Hsueh-kang and the United Wa State Army (UWSA)." The UWSA is said to be the largest drug-producing organisation in
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. The UWSP on its part blamed both the Ne Win military government and the CPB for using the Wa as "pawns in the violent destructive games" and encouraging them to grow the opium poppy. The opium poppy harvest had increased since the former
drug baron A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...
and
warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
Lo Hsing Han Lo Hsing Han or Law Sit Han ( my, လော်စစ်ဟန်, ; ; ca. 1930s – July 6, 2013) was a Burmese businessman and drug trafficker. He later became a major business tycoon across Burma, with financial ties to Singapore. He was an eth ...
managed to rebuild his drug empire after he became the intermediary for
cease-fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
agreements between the
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
chief
Khin Nyunt General Khin Nyunt (; ; born 23 October 1939) is a Burmese military officer and politician. He held the office of Chief of Intelligence and was Prime Minister of Myanmar from 25 August 2003 until 18 October 2004. Early life and education Kh ...
and the
Kokang Kokang ( my, ကိုးကန့်; ) is a region in Myanmar (Burma). It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area i ...
and Wa
insurgents An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
who had rebelled against and toppled the Communist leadership in 1989. In addition to the traditional
Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
export of
opiates An opiate, in classical pharmacology, is a substance derived from opium. In more modern usage, the term ''opioid'' is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonist ...
, production has diversified to methamphetamine, or '' yaa baa'', which is cheaper and easier to manufacture than heroin.
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
authorities have denounced methamphetamine production, trafficking, and consumption as a threat to
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
. It denied involvement in the Mekong incident of 5 November 2011. In recent years, poppy cultivation has declined in both northern Laos and the Wa region partly as a result of a ban imposed by the UWSP in 2005. In 1999, Bao Youxiang ordered a
forced relocation Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
, away from the poppy fields, of six northern Wa districts south to mainly Shan and Lahu areas. The
World Food Program The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
(WFP) and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
also provided emergency food assistance to former poppy farmers.
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
criminal organisation Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
s in the area however may have simply switched the production line from heroin to amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) such as ''yaa baa''.


Other operations

Wei Hsueh-kang founded the Hong Pang Group in 1998 with revenues from the drug trade after taking advantage of the privileges offered in the cease-fire deal by Khin Nyunt. Its position in the country's economy, not just the Wa State, is reflected by the multitude of businesses it owns and controls in construction, agriculture, gems and minerals, petroleum, electronics and communications, distilleries and department stores. Hong Pang Group is based at Pangkham with offices also in
Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, Mandalay,
Lashio Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located ...
, Tachilek and
Mawlamyine Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...
and minor bases in Sankang and Khailong. UWSA also operated its own bank in the past.
Ho Chun Ting Justin Ho Chun Ting (; born 18 December 1998) is a Hong Kong professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hong Kong Premier League club Southern, on loan from Kitchee. Club career On 20 August 2018, Ho was loaned to Hoi King for the ye ...
(also known as Aik Haw and Hsiao Haw), the son-in-law of Bao Youxiang, is the principal owner and managing director of
Yangon Airways Air Thanlwin () is an airline based in Yangon, Myanmar, offering scheduled and chartered domestic flights from its base at Yangon International Airport. The airline was rebranded in October 2019 from Yangon Airways which was founded in 1996. A ...
and chairman of Tetkham Co Ltd that runs a chain of hotels. Close to Khin Nyunt and several other generals in the junta, he was also involved in gems auctions and several large construction projects with the Yangon City Development Council. He was reported to have fled to Pangkham following the arrest of his known associates in a drug-related offence in January 2009. Aik Haw was included in the
Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...
published by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on 25 November 2008. Former Thai Premier
Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, ...
and the Thai military have a long-standing business relationship with the UWSA.


Relationship with China

UWSA has benefited from long-standing political and military ties to China, and has a close relationship with China's security agencies. Most significantly, this provides China leverage inside Burma's peace process allowing it to push other issues like the Sino-Myanmar pipelines. Beijing's official delegate is only one layer of its approach to diplomacy with not just the central government but also the various ethnic armies along the
China–Myanmar border The China–Myanmar border is the international border between the territory of the People's Republic of China and Myanmar (formerly ''Burma''). The border is 2,129 km (1,323 mi) in length and run from the tripoint with India in the nor ...
China's involvement in the UWSA's peace process aims to create stability for its multiple large infrastructure investments and keep its natural resource trade across the border protected. The Chinese government uses former CPB forces like UWSA as proxies within Burma, and works to ensure the drugs they produce are not smuggled into the China. Wa State has benefited from substantial Chinese tourism, turning Mong La into a Chinese tourist hub. China also helped the UWSA establish themselves as the de facto leaders of the FPNCC. The Chinese also supply military hardware, arms, and training to the UWSA.


Deployment

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) has five "divisions" deployed along the Thai-Burma border: # 778th Division commanded by Ta Marn # 772nd Division commanded by Ta Hsong # 775th Division commanded by Yang Guojong # 248th Division commanded by Ta Hsang # 518th Division commanded by Li Hsarm-nab On the China-Burma border are stationed another three "divisions": # 318th Division # 418th Division # 468th Division The United Wa State Army has 30,000 active service men with a 10,000 strong auxiliary force. It is one of the largest cease fire groups. Monthly salary is only 60 CNY (US$7.5). UWSA had clashes with the Thai Army in Mar–May 2002.


Arms supply

According to ''
Jane's Intelligence Review ''Jane's Intelligence Review'' is a monthly journal on global security and stability issues published by Jane's Information Group. Its coverage includes international security issues, state stability, terrorism and insurgency, ongoing conflicts, ...
'' in April 2008, China has become the main source of arms to the United Wa State Army, displacing traditional black market sources in South East Asia such as Thailand and
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
. Arms transfers to the UWSA from China are directed from the highest level in Beijing. Jane's reported in 2001 that the UWSA had acquired
HN-5 The HN-5 () is a family of first generation Chinese man-portable air-defense systems ( MANPAD) based on Soviet technology. The HN abbreviation is used to avoid confusion with HY (Hai Ying, or Sea Eagle) series anti-ship missiles of Silkworm m ...
N Surface-to-air missile (SAMs) from China as part of the build-up near the Thai border where they were reported to be operating 40–50 laboratories manufacturing '' yaa baa''. In November 2014, Janes further reported that the UWSA have acquired the
FN-6 FN-6 or Feinu-6 () is a third-generation passive infrared homing (IR) man portable air defence system (MANPADS). Development from HN-5 missile, FN-6 missile is an export-oriented product and China's most advanced surface-to-air missile offered o ...
Surface-to-air missile to supplant the HN-5N in service, which was promptly denied by the UWSA. It is also the middleman between Chinese arms manufacturers and other insurgent groups in Myanmar. By 2012, Chinese support had increased to the point of supplying armoured vehicles such as the 6 × 6 PTL-02 assault gun being sighted in
Pangkham Pangkham (; zh, c=邦康, p=Bāngkāng; Wa: ''Bāng kam''), known before 1999 as Pangsang (), is a border town in Myanmar's far eastern Shan State. It is situated at a bend on the Hka River near the border with Yunnan Province, China, opposit ...
. On 29 April 2013, Janes IHS reported that several Mil Mi-17 helicopters armed with TY-90 air-to-air missiles were supplied to UWSA by China. The allegations were dismissed by China, Thai military sources, other Myanmar ethnic sources and the UWSA themselves. In 2015 IHS Jane's reported that UWSA members had been photographed training with Chinese Type 96 122 mm howitzers and HJ-8 ATGMs. A ''Janes report in December 2008 stated that the UWSA had turned to arms production to supplement their income from arms and drug trafficking, and started a small arms production line for AK 47s.


Gallery


References


Citations


Sources

* "U.S. Links 11 Individuals, 16 Companies to Burma Drug Syndicate." Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, US Department of State. 4 November 2005. * Jack Picone. "A Gentler War on Drugs." Utne, September–October 2005, pp. 68–71; originally i
Colors
magazine (Winter 2004–05)


External links



''Geopium.org'' * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090713012213/http://www.myanmar-narcotic.net/drug/Wa-region/ Foreign diplomats continue Wa region visit: photo of Bao You-Xiang''Myanmar-narcotic.net''
Photo of Aung Myint


'
WEI Hsueh Kang, United Wa State Army, Financial Network
US Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
Office of Foreign Assets Control, November 2008
The Wa Nation
''
TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
Asia'', 16 December 2002
Burma's Drug Kings
''
TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
Asia'', 16 December 2002
Photo: UWSA on parade at Panghsang
''
The Irrawaddy ''The Irrawaddy'' () is a news website by the Irrawaddy Publishing Group (IPG), founded in 1990 by Burmese exiles living in Thailand. From its inception, ''The Irrawaddy'' has taken an independent stance on Burmese politics. As a publication pr ...
'', 4 May 2009
Photo of Bao Youxiang

Photo of Xiao MinLiang



Christian Ministers are Abused by Wa Army (UWSA)


{{Insurgent groups in Myanmar Wa people Paramilitary organisations based in Myanmar 1989 establishments in Myanmar Wa Organized crime groups in Myanmar