bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Myanmar's most heavily armed and powerful rebel group said it wants to carve out a legitimate state. Experts say it is flexing its muscles amid tense relations with the government.
The United Wa State Army, which commands an estimated 30,000 troops, holds sway over a remote mountainous area on the country's northeastern border with China that is believed to be awash with drugs and has long been aloof from central control.

Shielded from the reach of the previous junta by its close links to Beijing and formidable military might, observers say the group is using political openings under a new government to push for greater acknowledgement.
The Wa self-administered region consists of six townships in the rugged borderlands of Shan state, but UWSA spokesman Tone Sann said that the arrangement was "not enough".
"We want them to be acknowledged as a state," he said on the sidelines of a religious ceremony in northern Shan that marked a rare public appearance for officials from the rebel group.
The UWSA has upheld a ceasefire agreement with the government since 1989, one of the longest such deals in a country that has been riven by pockets of ethnic rebellion since independence in 1948.
A raft of tentative new ceasefires have been inked by the quasi-civilian government that replaced military rule two years ago as part of reforms that have raised hopes of greater federalism.

	The Wa have proven adept, in the past, at garnering the concessions they need .. Given they run what often feels like an independent borderland fief, it is logical that the Wa leadership would be the first to test a new style of decentralisation
"The Wa have proven adept, in the past, at garnering the concessions they need," Nicholas Farrelly, of the Australian National University said, adding the group's military, economic and political resources makes them a "force to reckon with".
"Moreover, given they run what often feels like an independent borderland fief, it is logical that the Wa leadership would be the first to test a new style of decentralisation," he said.
Ethnic Wa make up about 1 per cent of Myanmar's population, with about 800,000 people of various ethnic groups in the self-administered region, according to Tone Sann.
He said the UWSA made an official request for their region to be upgraded to "Wa State" in talks with a government peace team this month, adding they received assurances it would be considered in parliament.
Myanmar has seven ethnic minority states and seven regions, mainly of the majority Burman ethnicity.
Tone Sann said the Wa want their region to be recognised as a state to take advantage of regional development, as resource-rich and strategically located Myanmar looks to reap the rewards of ending decades of isolation.
The Wa claim comes as the country's military is locked in a conflict with rebels in neighbouring Kachin, where a 17-year ceasefire collapsed in 2011.
Peace talks with the Kachin, which were set to continue yesterday, have stumbled at several hurdles and the unrest has continued amid suspicions that the army is determined to bring all the insurgents to heel.
A recent report by analysts IHS Jane's said the UWSA ceasefire was "fragile" and suggested the group had purchased armed helicopters from China as part of "a programme of rapid rearmament" - a claim denied by Beijing and the Wa.
Tone Sann said some aircraft had been bought as "samples" to put on display to the public. "These are not real ones and cannot be used. We just wanted to attract more people to visit our museum," he said.
"It is not true that we bought helicopters from China," he said, and rejected persistent claims of widespread opium and methamphetamine production in Wa territory as "just accusations".
Farrelly said China was the "sponsor and facilitator of Wa success", a situation that the Myanmar government may "resent" but would have little opportunity to counter.


Myanmar's powerful Wa rebels seek their own state

An ethnic Wa woman carries a baby during a religious ceremony. Photo: AFP

A Wa fighter peers over a wall near the Thai border. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Myanmar's most heavily armed group, who are backed by China and boast 30,000 troops, are flexing their muscles in a bid for legitimacy


Myanmar's most heavily armed and powerful rebel group said it wants to carve out a legitimate state. Experts say it is flexing its muscles amid tense relations with the government. The United Wa State Army, which commands an estimated 30,000 troops, holds sway over a remote mountainous area on the country's northeastern border with China that is believed to be awash with drugs and has long been aloof from central control.
