2009 Kokang incident

Background

Main article: internal conflict in Myanmar

The civil war in Burma (later Myanmar) began when the first shots were fired by the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in April 1948 in the small village of Paukkongyi in the Pegu District (present-day Bago Region). Since the late 1960s Kokang was under control by some warlords, the first of them were the Communists and later the Kokang nationalists. In March 1989 a group made by Phone Kyar Shin was formed as a splinter group from the CPB called the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). The rebels in Kokang made soon after a ceasefire with the Burmese military government; they also were the first armed ethnic group to do so. That same year was the CPB dissolved after a peace agreement was made between them and the government.

Other groups like the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and the United Wa State Army (UWSA) were also formed in 1989. Like the MNDAA they are splinter groups from the CPB and after their splits, they also made ceasefires with the Burmese government. This would be followed by many rebels in the states Kachin, Kayah, Mon and Shan made partial ceasefire agreements in the 1990s. During the truce agreement, the MNDAA was allowed to control their checkpoints and collect taxes from the people. In return the Tatmadaw was allowed to travel freely within the just established Shan State Special Region 1 (SR1). The MNDAA had in 2007 between 3,000 and 4,000 men.

When the 2008 constitution was signed as part of the truce agreement, Kokang became one of the five self-administered zones within Myanmar. Since then, the military junta has proposed that the ethnic armies be assimilated into the Tatmadaw and converted into the Border Guard Forces (BGF); almost all of the ethnic armies have opposed this plan, with exceptions of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and the New Democratic Army - Kachin (NDA-K) who joined the BGF. Observers and activists claim that the junta's motivation for this proposal is to disarm and neutralise the ethnic groups before the Myanmar general election scheduled to take place sometime in 2010.

Prelude

Kokang has been ruled since 1989 by the leader of the MNDAA, Peng Jiasheng (also known as Pheung Kya-shin, Its population was in 2005–2006 about} 70 per cent Chinese Kokang, 12 per cent Paulang, 3 percent of each the Miao and Lisu and 2 per cent Wa. Until 2003, the MNDAA produced opium but they stopped producing it under Chinese and Burmese pressure. Two years later the Burmese government declared that poppy growing in the Shan State would be illegal. But even after that, there are claims that Kokang is still a center of illegal drug trading.

Tensions came to a head on 8 August 2009 when the junta military, acting on a tip-off from China, moved into the region for a raid on a gun factory suspected of being a drug front and on Kokang leader Pheung's home. This confrontation, according to the newspaper Shan Herald, was only a "stand-off", with no shots being fired; nevertheless, it triggered a mass exodus of locals who were worried about the possibility of violence. Chinese officials had to intervene in the face-off, and by 17 August officials claimed that the situation in Kokang was "normal" again.

The MNDAA reportedly has about 1,000 to 1,500 soldiers. Recently there has been an inter-faction split within the army, with Pheung being opposed by deputy chairman Bai Xuoqian—while Pheung has opposed efforts to integrate the Kokang army with the Tatmadaw, Bai has supported it and gained the junta's backing. According to the newspaper Shan Herald, several factions of the Kokang army have become loyal to the junta, and three high-ranking army officials informed the junta government that Pheung was secretly producing illicit weapons and drugs.

Violence

| Myanmar By 20 August, however, government troops were beginning to gather near Laukkai, and Kokang leaders reportedly urged residents to "be prepared", which prompted even more people to flee. On 24 August, junta troops captured and occupied Laukkai "without firing a shot".

On 27 August, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army began to open fire on junta troops outside the city; the United Wa State Army, Myanmar's largest ethnic military force, was also involved in the fighting, as was the National Democratic Alliance Army (also known as the Mong La Army). On 27 and 28 there were more battles in the villages of Yan Lon Kyaik and Chinshwehaw, near the Chinese border. Across the border, the Chinese army increased its numbers in attempt to maintain border stability.

By late 29 August, the United States-based Campaign for Burma claimed that as many as 700 Kokang fighters, outnumbered by junta troops, had fled, surrendered to the Chinese, and given up their weapons. Kokang soldiers interviewed in China after surrendering also said they had been overrun. While the Kokang army appears to have been routed, the larger United Wa State Army was still active, and Al Jazeera reported that the government was requesting reinforcements to deal with them; The government issued a statement on 30 August claiming that the fighting had ended,

The Myanmar Army's operation in the incident was overseen by Min Aung Hlaing and he was credited for it by the junta.

Casualties and refugees

No official casualty count was released in the first two days of fighting, On 30 August, the junta government released its first figures, claiming that the fighting had killed twenty-six junta troops (fifteen police, eleven soldiers) and wounded forty-seven (thirteen police, thirty-four soldiers), and that eight rebel bodies had been found; the figures have not been independently confirmed, however.

From 8 to 12 August, as many as 10,000 residents fled to Yunnan in neighbouring China, becoming refugees. The total number of refugees fleeing in the entire month may be as high as 30,000, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Yunnan's police chief later reported that the number of refugees in Yunnan reached 37,000, including Burmese refugees as well as Kokang. Yunnan government officials stated they have established seven locations (particularly near the city of Nansan, where most of the refugees arrived By 31 August, some refugees (as many as 4,000, according to local officials, or 2,800 according to the junta government by mid-September, Chinese officials said over 9,000 refugees had returned and Myanmar officials said over 13,000; many refugees, however, were still afraid to go back.

Pheung was also rumoured to have fled Kokang, and is currently in China, although his precise location has not been revealed. Before the Kokang forces surrendered, he claimed that he was still controlling them from abroad.

Reaction

Although China has in the past supported the military junta, and urging Burma to protect "Chinese citizens in Myanmar".

The UN has also expressed concern about reports of fighting and thousands of refugees fleeing across the border. The American government also voiced its concern, and called on the junta to end its military campaign against the cease-fire groups.

Aftermath

After the fighting ended, the new Kokang leader claimed that the Kokang people would participate in the 2010 general elections; other cease-fire groups such as the Wa and Kachin still maintain that they will not participate.

Bai, vice-president under Peng Jiasheng, became the new head of Kokang with the support of ruling junta in 2009. The portion of the MNDAA loyal to him became Border Guard Force #1006. He is also head of Kokang Self Administered Zone and a member of Myanmar parliament in 2011. The area was peaceful until new clashes between Peng Jiasheng's troops and Myanmar troops erupted in February 2015.

Major General Huang Xing, the former head of the research guidance department at the Chinese Academy of Military Science, was ousted in 2015 because of his relationship with MNDAA during this incident.

References

Bibliography

References

1. (30 August 2009). "Myanmar says 34 killed as border fighting ends".
2. (27 August 2009). "More fighting feared as thousands flee Burma". [[Bangkok Post]].
3. (13 February 2015). "47 Myanmar soldiers reported dead in clashes with Kokang rebels".
4. (3 October 2013). "The Demise of a Once Powerful Communist Party—Now in Burmese".
5. (6 May 2019). "What's Next for NDAA and Its Border Boomtown of Mong La?".
6. (24 April 2009). "Twenty Years on, the Wa-Burmese Cease-fire Looks Shakier". Transnational Institute.
7. (1 February 2019). "Timeline: 70 Years of Ethnic Armed Resistance Movements in Myanmar".
8. (17 February 2014). "New Self-administered Areas Struggle to Assert Authority". Myanmar Times.
9. (29 March 2012). "Myanmar's Ethnic Problems". The New Humanitarian.
10. (29 November 2010). "Border Guard Plan Could Fuel Ethnic Conflict". The New Humanitarian.
11. (29 August 2009). "Q+A: Will Fighting in Northern Myanmar Escalate?". Reuter.
12. (26 August 2009). "Kokang Capital Falls: "Not shoot first" Policy under Fire". Shan Herald.
13. (8 February 2011). "Drugs and Conflict in Burma". Transnational Institute.
14. (28 August 2009). "Junta Renews 'Divide-and-Rule' Tactic in Shan State".
15. Myint, Zaw. (14 September 2009). "Tip from China sparked Kokang arms factory raid, says gov't". [[The Myanmar Times]].
16. Lawi Weng. (10 August 2009). "Kokang Thwart Burma Army Drug Raid". [[The Irrawaddy]].
17. Bodeen, Christopher. (28 August 2009). "Fighting in Myanmar sending refugees to China, underscoring Beijing's border woes".
18. (29 August 2009). "Situation in Myanmar's Kokang region remains". [[China Daily]].
19. (10 August 2009). "Junta and Kokang almost come to blows". [[Shan Herald]].
20. (17 August 2009). "Kokang returns to "normal"". [[Shan Herald]].
21. (24 August 2009). "Tension sparks people to flee into China". [[Shan Herald]].
22. (27 August 2009). "Myanmar military moves to crush Kokang Chinese". Earth Times.
23. (30 August 2009). "Burmese troops and Kokang soldiers clash". Kachin News.
24. (30 August 2009). "Fightings (sic) keep on in Myanmar's Kokang region".
25. Fuller, Thomas. (28 August 2009). "Refugees Flee to China as Fighting Breaks Out in Myanmar". The New York Times.
26. Ng Han Guan. "Ethnic rebels flee Myanmar, abandoning weapons and uniforms for safe haven in south China". [[Chicago Tribune]].
27. Wai Moe. (30 August 2009). "Fighting Stops as Kokang Surrender Arms to Chinese". [[The Irrawaddy]].
28. (30 August 2009). "Myanmar fighters cross into China". [[Al Jazeera English.
29. Fuller, Thomas. (30 August 2009). "Myanmar Forces Overwhelm Rebels". The New York Times.
30. "Senior General Min Aung Hlaing".
31. Dasgupta, Saibal. (29 August 2009). "Fresh violence near China-Myanmar border". [[The Times of India]].
32. [https://archive.today/20130124230359/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gaS4NOB2jmkI6M2kJJ3-QBnOfEWQ 1 killed by bomb along China-Myanmar border: media]. AFP. 29 August 2009.
33. (26 August 2009). "Thousands Flee Burma Violence". [[BBC News]].
34. (30 August 2009). "Myanmar border inhabitants begin to return from China as situation calms".
35. Buckley, Chris. (31 August 2009). "Myanmar refugees weigh risks of returning from China". [[Reuters]].
36. Ng Han Guan. (31 August 2009). "Myanmar refugees begin to return home from China".
37. Shearf, Daniel. (31 August 2009). "Burma Refugees in China Head Home as Fighting Dies Down". [[Voice of America News]].
38. Storey, Ian. (10 September 2009). "Emerging Fault Lines in Sino-Burmese Relations: The Kokang Incident". China Brief.
39. (7 September 2009). "Myanmar says market trading in Kokang capital returns to normal".
40. . link. (29 August 2009)
41. Magnier, Mark. (29 August 2009). "Myanmar troops attack minority militia in the north". [[Los Angeles Times]].
42. Johnson, Tim. (29 August 2009). "China Urges Burma to Bridle Ethnic Militia Uprising at Border". [[The Washington Post]].
43. Islam, Siddique (29 August 2009). [http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7016243547?U.N.%20Voices%20Concern%20As%20Fresh%20Fighting%20Breaks%20Out%20In%20Northeastern%20Burma U.N. Voices Concern As Fresh Fighting Breaks Out In Northeastern Burma] {{webarchive. link. (3 September 2009 . AHN.)
44. (31 August 2009). "U.S. urges end to violence in Myanmar".
45. (10 September 2009). ["Myanmar says Chinese tip-off led to border clash"](https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i2nUHOdn-KZ9M9fpx0qKHABSXhQgD9AK72Q02}}{{dead link).
46. "Kokang wants to join ceasefire talks".
47. "Myanmar says Kokang rebels on the run despite allies' help". [[Stars and Stripes (newspaper).
48. (6 March 2015). "Senior Chinese military strategist 'leaked state secrets, helped rebels in Myanmar'". [[South China Morning Post]].