Wa and Mongla Stand Firm on Border Guard Question

Leaders of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) have told Burmese government negotiators that regime troops must withdraw from Wa territory before discussions can proceed about the formation of a border guard force.

A similar stand was taken in separate talks between government negotiators and the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, also known as the Mongla militia.

The five Wa leaders met Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut, commander of the Lashio-based Northeastern Region Command, in Lashio from Oct. 24 to Oct. 28, according to sources on the Sino-Burmese border and in Thailand.

At a one-day meeting in Kengtung on Wednesday, 20 representatives of the Mongla militia, led by Sai Linn, met Lt-Gen Ye Myint, head of Military Affairs Security.

The Mongla militia has about 4,500 men under arms. Saeng Juen, an editor of the Chiang Mai-based Shan Herald Agency for News, said the Mongla delegation had accepted the regime’s border guard force plan in principle, but compromises were still necessary.

Juen said the Mongla had opposed a proposal to assign 30 officials to their army and had also argued against the deployment of Burmese army battalions and staff in Mongla region or any sudden changes to the administration in the Mongla region.

At the meeting between the Wa and government delegations, the Wa made clear that the withdrawal of Burmese army units from Wa territory was a first priority, according to Aung Kyaw Zaw, a former rebel and an observer on the Sino-Burmese border.

Burmese government troops were sent to the Wa area earlier this month when trouble erupted with Kokang forces.

The Wa said negotiations on a border guard force could proceed after the Burmese government troops withdrew, Aung Kyaw Zaw reported.

Juen said about 30 Burmese government battalions of Light Infantry Division 77, 88, 33 had reinforced central, northern and southern Wa regions.

Juen said the separate meetings with Wa and Mongla delegations seemed to be a government “divide and conquer” strategy.

Aung Kyaw Zaw said UWSA soldiers were ready to fight but their leaders seemed to want a peaceful resolution because of the harm hostilities would bring to their business interests.

Meanwhile, sources in the Wa area and in Beijing reported that China’s interest in investigating the causes of the Kokang conflict ruled out any further major conflict in the Sino-Burmese border region.

An international humanitarian relief worker in China who earlier helped Kokang refugees told The Irrawaddy: “An offensive against the UWSA at this point in time seems unlikely. The Chinese government seems to have received a firm guarantee from the SPDC that no further conflict is going to break out in the border region. A lot of diplomatic efforts have been made through bilateral talks.” 

The relief worker, requesting anonymity, said if major hostilities broke out between the UWSA and government forces it would have a “tremendous” economic and political impact. Many casinos, a major local source of revenue, had closed down because of the Kokang troubles.

Yunnan Province would have to mobilize more resources to deal with the refugees if fighting broke out and Chinese border patrols would have to be stepped up, the relief worker said. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs would have to work fast to “put out the fire”, while dealing with international criticism, according to the worker.  

Aung Kyaw Zaw said China was certainly a factor in the negotiations between the Wa and the Burmese regime, but Beijing could not be counted on to influence the Wa.