Military tension is rising as Thailand deployed more troops on the Myanmar border to pressure the United Wa State Army (UWSA) to withdraw from bases that allegedly encroach on Thai territory.
The UWSA is Myanmar’s largest ethnic army and has nine bases along the border under its Military Region 171 in Southern Shan State. The Wa control two non-contiguous territories in Shan State, the other being the Wa Special Region bordering China in the north.
UWSA spokesman Nyi Rang told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that Thailand has asked for the removal of the nine bases and deployed troops on the border.
Thai media reported on Tuesday that tensions are growing in Pai District of Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province after the UWSA reportedly reinforced the bases with more troops and weaponry. They said the Thai army has stationed artillery near the bases to support Thai infantry units.
“It’s true that the Thai army has deployed more troops, but the situation is normal on our side,” Nyi Rang said.
Tensions rose after Thai Third Army officials met senior UWSA members from Military Region 171 in Chiang Mai on Nov. 18 to discuss drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and incursions on Thai territory.
A source familiar with the meeting said the Thai side gave the UWSA one month to withdraw from the disputed bases.
“We replied that the issue has to be solved between governments,” the UWSA spokesman said.
U Khun Sai, the former chief editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, said the Wa’s response was reasonable as the matter is a border issue.
“Thai authorities should talk to the [Myanmar junta] to negotiate the border, and I hope it can be solved peacefully,” he said.
The disputed areas were previously controlled by drug lord Khun Sa, the leader of the Mong Tai Army, but were taken over by the UWSA in 1996 when Khun Sa made a deal with the then-military regime and retired to Yangon, where he ended his days in wealth and splendor.
The border dispute has been festering ever since.
In 2000, Myanmar and Thailand swapped protest notes after Thai troops and the UWSA, which was aligned with the then-junta, traded fire across the border in Thailand’s Chiang Mai province.
At the time the UWSA was thought to control much of the heroin and amphetamine trafficking that was rife along the border.
In 2016, Thai authorities asked the Myanmar military to help convince UWSA troops to withdraw from Thai territory, but in vain.
Last year, the UWSA refused another Thai request to retreat from five bases on the border, insisting they are not on the Thai side but within Myanmar’s borders and there to protect them.
This month’s meeting between the UWSA and Thai army came after Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra unveiled an urgent policy package in September that includes eliminating illicit drugs through “collaborating with the neighboring countries to cut off production sources and dealers at the origin.”
