United Wa State Army
Encyclopedia
The United Wa State Army is an ethnic minority army of an estimated 30,000 Wa
soldiers of Myanmar
's Special Region No. 2 led by Bao Youxiang (鲍有祥). There is no recognised Wa State
in Myanmar
, which is divided into divisions, states, and special regions. The UWSA is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), and was formed after the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma
(CPB) in 1989.
The working language of UWSA is Chinese
.
On the China-Burma border are stationed another 3 "divisions":
and Mong Pawk
are within the area of this special region. The UWSA negotiated a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese military in the 1990s, and currently backs a counterinsurgency strategy of the Myanmar Army against the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S). The UWSA defied the military regime
's recent demand to disarm and participate in the 2010 elections, and instead proposed to declare the territory under their control a special autonomous region.
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 organization in Southeast Asia
. 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 and war lord Lo Hsing Han
managed to rebuild his drug empire after he became the intermediary for cease-fire agreements between the military intelligence
chief Khin Nyunt
and the Kokang
and Wa
insurgents
who had rebelled against and toppled the Communist leadership
in 1989. In addition to the traditional Golden Triangle
export of opiates, production has diversified to methamphetamine
, or yaa baa
, which is not only much cheaper and easier to manufacture than heroin, but also more affordable. Thai
authorities have denounced methamphetamine production, trafficking, and consumption as a threat to national security
.
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 You-Xiang ordered a forced relocation, away from the poppy fields, of six northern Wa districts south to mainly Shan and Lahu
areas. The World Food Program (WFP) and China
also provided emergency food assistance to former poppy farmers. Chinese
criminal organisations in the area however may have simply switched the production line from heroin to amphetamine
-type stimulant
s (ATS) such as yaa baa.
, Mandalay
, Lashio
, Tachilek and Mawlamyine
.
Ho Chun Ting, aka Aik Haw aka Hsiao Haw, the son-in-law of Bao You-Xiang, is the principal owner and managing director of Yangon Airways
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 Panghsang 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 published by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on November 25, 2008.
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
. 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.
Jane's reported in 2001 that the UWSA had acquired HN-5
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
.
, the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw). This was the largest outbreak of fighting between ethnic armies and government troops since the signing of the cease-fire 20 years earlier.
Va people
The Va nationality lives mainly in Northern Burma, in the northern part of Shan and eastern Kachin States, near and along the border with China. Their defacto capital is Pangkham in the unofficial Wa State in North Eastern Shan state. The majority of the Va live in Burma...
soldiers of Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
's Special Region No. 2 led by Bao Youxiang (鲍有祥). There is no recognised Wa State
Wa State
Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham . The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages...
in Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, which is divided into divisions, states, and special regions. The UWSA is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), and was formed after the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma
Communist Party of Burma
The Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...
(CPB) in 1989.
The working language of UWSA is Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
.
Deployment
The United Wa State Army (UWSA) has 5 "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 and
- 518th Division commanded by Li Hsarm-nab.
On the China-Burma border are stationed another 3 "divisions":
- 318th Division
- 418th Division and
- 468th Division.
Territory
The towns of PanghsangPanghsang
Pangkham , formerly known as Pangsang, Panghsang before 1999, ia a town in far eastern Shan State of Myanmar . It is situated on River Nam Hka near the border with Yunnan Province, China. It is the de facto capital of Wa State, officially designated as Special Region No. 2, while Hopang is its...
and Mong Pawk
Mong Pawk
Mong Pawk is a town in Shan State of far eastern Myanmar only 10 kilometres from the border with China. It is just south of Pangkham.-External links:* GeoNames...
are within the area of this special region. The UWSA negotiated a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese military in the 1990s, and currently backs a counterinsurgency strategy of the Myanmar Army against the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S). The UWSA defied the military regime
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
's recent demand to disarm and participate in the 2010 elections, and instead proposed to declare the territory under their control a special autonomous region.
Narcotics
The United States government labeled the UWSA as a narcotic trafficking organization on May 29, 2003. On November 3, 2005, The Department of the Treasury'sUnited States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Office of Foreign Assets Control
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S...
listed 11 individuals and 16 companies that were "part of the financial and commercial network of designated significant foreign narcotics trafficker Wei Hsueh-kang
Wei Hsueh-kang
Wei Hsueh-kang is an infamous drug kingpin currently operating as the Southern Commander of the United Wa State Army.-Insurgent leader:Originally a member of Khun Sa’s Mong Tai Army , he was one of the original founders of the UWSA in 1989 following the factional division of the old Communist...
and the United Wa State Army (UWSA)." The UWSA is said to be the largest drug-producing organization in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. The UWSP on its part blamed both the Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
military government
Burma Socialist Programme Party
Burma Socialist Programme Party was formed by the Ne Win's military regime that seized power in 1962 and was the sole political party allowed to exist legally in Burma during the period of military rule from 1964 until its demise in the aftermath of the popular uprising of 1988.-History:The BSPP...
and the CPB for using the Wa as "pawns in the violent destructive games" and encouraging them to grow the opium poppy
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
.
The opium poppy harvest had increased since the former drug baron and war lord Lo Hsing Han
Lo Hsing Han
Lo Hsing Han or Law Sit Han is a former Burmese drug trafficker and present-day major Burmese business tycoon, with financial ties to Singapore. He is an ethnic Kokang.-Rise and fall:...
managed to rebuild his drug empire after he became the intermediary for cease-fire agreements between the military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
chief Khin Nyunt
Khin Nyunt
General Khin Nyunt is an officer and politician in Myanmar. Khin Nyunt is of Burmese Chinese descent. He held the office of Chief of Intelligence and was Prime Minister from 25 August 2003 until 18 October 2004. He is married to Khin Win Shwe, a medical doctor, and father to a daughter, Thin Le Le...
and the Kokang
Kokang
Kokang , formally the First Special Region, is a self-administrative region of Burma . It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and it shares a border with China's Yunnan Province in the east. Its total land area is around . The capital is Laukkai...
and Wa
Wa State
Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham . The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages...
insurgents
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
who had rebelled against and toppled the Communist leadership
Communist Party of Burma
The Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...
in 1989. In addition to the traditional Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)
The Golden Triangle is one of Asia's two main illicit opium-producing areas. It is an area of around that overlaps the mountains of four countries of Southeast Asia: Burma, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent and Pakistan, it has been one of the most...
export of opiates, production has diversified to methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
, or yaa baa
Yaba (drug)
Ya ba are tablets containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine.-Alternative names:...
, which is not only much cheaper and easier to manufacture than heroin, but also more affordable. Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
authorities have denounced methamphetamine production, trafficking, and consumption as a threat to national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
.
In recent years poppy cultivation has declined in both northern Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and the Wa region partly as a result of a ban imposed by the UWSP in 2005. In 1999, Bao You-Xiang ordered a forced relocation, away from the poppy fields, of six northern Wa districts south to mainly Shan and Lahu
Lahu people
The Lahu are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia and China.They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 450,000 live in Yunnan province. An estimated 150,000 live in Burma. In Thailand, Lahu are one of the six main hill tribes; their...
areas. The World Food Program (WFP) and China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
also provided emergency food assistance to former poppy farmers. Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
criminal organisations in the area however may have simply switched the production line from heroin to amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
-type stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
s (ATS) such as yaa baa.
Enterprise
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 Panghsang with offices also in YangonYangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
, Mandalay
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
, Lashio
Lashio
Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...
, Tachilek and Mawlamyine
Mawlamyine
Mawlamyine is the fourth largest city of Burma , situated 300 km south east of Yangon and 70 km south of Thaton, at the mouth of Thanlwin river...
.
Ho Chun Ting, aka Aik Haw aka Hsiao Haw, the son-in-law of Bao You-Xiang, is the principal owner and managing director of Yangon Airways
Yangon Airways
Yangon Airways Ltd. is an airline based in Yangon, Myanmar, offering scheduled and chartered domestic flights out of its bases at Yangon International Airport and Mandalay Chanmyathazi Airport...
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 Panghsang 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 published by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on November 25, 2008.
Arms supply
According to Jane's Intelligence ReviewJane's Intelligence Review
Jane's Intelligence Review is a monthly journal on military intelligence published by Jane's Information Group . Its coverage includes international security issues, ongoing conflicts, organized crime, and weapons proliferation....
in April 2008, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
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
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. 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
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
production line for AK 47s.
Jane's reported in 2001 that the UWSA had acquired HN-5
HN-5
The HN-5 , is a family of first generation Chinese man-portable air-defense systems based on Soviet technology. The literal translation of Hong Ying is Red Tassel, but HN abbreviation is used to avoid confusion with HY series anti-ship missiles of Silkworm missile family...
N Surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
(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
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
.
Kokang incident
In August 2009, the United Wa State Army became involved in a violent conflict with Burma's military juntaMilitary junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
, the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw). This was the largest outbreak of fighting between ethnic armies and government troops since the signing of the cease-fire 20 years earlier.
External links
- Photos of United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) military outposts along the border of Thailand, Chiang Rai province Geopium.org
- More Photos Militaryphotos.net
- Foreign diplomats continue Wa region visit: photo of Bao You-Xiang Myanmar-narcotic.net
- WEI Hsueh Kang, United Wa State Army, Financial Network US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets ControlOffice of Foreign Assets ControlThe Office of Foreign Assets Control is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury under the auspices of the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S...
, November 2008 - The Wa Nation TIMETimeTime is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
asia, December 16, 2002 - Burma's Drug Kings TIMETimeTime is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
asia, December 16, 2002 - Photo: UWSA on parade at Panghsang The IrrawaddyThe IrrawaddyThis article is about a newsmagazine. For other uses of the term, please see Irrawaddy.For the Second World War battle honour, see Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations...
, May 4, 2009