Is UWSA Preparing for Clash with Junta?

By LAWI WENG

About 1,000 United Wa State Army (UWSA) troops have been taking part in military training exercises near the Thai-Burmese border since the beginning of December, as Burma’s ruling junta steps up its efforts to force the former rebel army to disarm.

The military exercises, which are taking place just a few kilometers from Mae Ai District in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province, come after another failed attempt by the Burmese Army to persuade the Wa army to disarm, according to Khuensai Jaiyen, editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, based in Chiang Mai.

Khuensai said that Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyoe, the Burmese Army’s regional commander in the Golden Triangle area of Shan State, met with the commander of the UWSA’s 468th Brigade, Col Sai Hsarm, in Mongpawk, south of the UWSA headquarters of Panghsang, on December 5 to pressure him to withdraw troops from the area and “exchange arms for peace.”

A source close to the UWSA said that Wa leaders rejected Kyaw Phyoe’s proposal, and the meeting ended abruptly without the two sides reaching an agreement.

“The UWSA military training may be in preparation for an attack on the Burmese Army if they continue to pressure them to move from their current location on the Thai-Burmese border,” said Khuensai.

Tensions between the Burmese Army and the UWSA have been mounting since the Wa were told last year to withdraw their troops to Panghsang, which is located near the Chinese border, from their current position near the Thai-Burmese border. The UWSA continues to ignore the order.

The military exercises recently launched by the UWSA and mortar shelling and gunfire in the area have put Thai border forces on the alert, according a source based in the area.

Aung Kyaw Zwa, a Burmese analyst based o¬n the Sino-Burmese border, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the UWSA’s current military exercises are in preparation for a clash with government troops sometime next year.

“The UWSA know they have to talk to the Burmese military soon,” he said. “These exercises are intended to reinforce their position before the talks.”

The UWSA is an armed ethnic group that has had a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military since the early 1990’s. Leaders of the group, including its commander Wei Hsueh Kang, also known as Wei Xuegang, are wanted by the US government for their key role in the region’s drug trade.