Wa State is a de facto independent state and de jure self-governing region in Myanmar that has its own political system, administrative divisions and army.29 December 2004, 佤帮双雄 , Phoenix TV. While the Wa State government recognises Myanmar's sovereignty over all of its territory,13 October 2011, 缅甸佤邦竟然是一个山寨版的中国 , 军情观察 this does not include allegiance to any specific government. The 2008 Constitution of Myanmar officially recognises the northern part of Wa State as the Wa Self-Administered Division of Shan State. It is run as a de facto communist state ruled by the United Wa State Party (UWSP), which split from the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1989. Wa State is divided into three counties, two special districts, and one economic development zone. The administrative capital is Pangkham, formerly known as Pangsang. The name Wa is derived from the Wa ethnic group, who speak an Austroasiatic language.
History For a long time, headman tribes were dispersed around the Wa mountainous area, with no unified governance and gradually the region became separated from the tribal military control of the Dai people. British rule in Burma did not administer the Wa StatesSir J. George Scott, Burma : a handbook of practical information. London 1906, p. and the border with China was left undefined.
From the late 1940s, during the Chinese Civil War, remnants of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army retreated to territory within Burma as the communists took over mainland China. Within the mountain region Kuomintang forces of the Eighth Army 237 division and 26th Army 93 division held their position for two decades in preparation for a counterattack towards mainland China. Under pressure from the United Nations, the counterattack was cancelled and the army was recalled to northern Thailand and later back to Taiwan; however, some troops decided to remain within Burma. East of the Salween river, indigenous tribal guerrilla groups exercised control with the support of the Communist Party of Burma.
During the 1960s, the Communist Party of Burma lost its base of operations within central Burma, and with the assistance of the Chinese communists, expanded within the border regions in the northeast. Many intellectual youths from China joined the Communist Party of Burma, and these forces also absorbed many local guerrillas. , Wa State government The Burmese communists gained control over Pangkham, which became their base of operations.
At the end of the 1980s, the ethnic minorities of northeast Burma became politically separated from the Communist Party of Burma. On 17 April 1989, Bao Youxiang's armed forces announced their separation from the Communist Party of Burma, and formed the United Myanmar Ethnicities Party, which later became the United Wa State Party. On 18 May, the United Wa State Army signed a ceasefire agreement with the State Law and Order Restoration Council, which replaced Ne Win's military regime following the 8888 Uprising. After the ceasefire, the Myanmar government began to call the region "Shan State Special Region No. 2 (Wa Region)" (Parauk: ; ; ).
In 1990s, Wa State obtained the Southern area by force. From 1999 to 2002, 80,000 former opium farmers from the northern area of Wa State were forcefully resettled into the more fertile south for food production, improving food security and laying the groundwork for a ban on drug production in Wa State. Some groups report that thousands died as a result of resettlement.
Tensions between the central government and Wa State were heightened in 2009. During this time, peace initiative proposals by Wa State were rejected by the Myanmar government. The government warned on 27 April 2010 that the WHP program could push Myanmar and Wa State into further conflict.
In 2012, Wa State began a major road construction program to link all townships with asphalt roads. By 2014, asphalt roads ran through the northern townships of Wa State and connected the Wa townships of Kunma, Nam Tit, and Mengmao to the Chinese towns of Cangyuan and Ximeng.
After the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état the Wa began to oppose the Myanmar government more directly, shifting away from their strategy of "forward defense" of supporting smaller anti-government forces militarily which was supposed to keep the Tatmadaw from violating ceasefires, with the goal of extending their political and military influence towards Central Myanmar.
When fighting in northern Shan State escalated in late October and early November in 2023, Wa State took a neutral position urging on 1 Nov for a ceasefire. The UWSP has again stated that they would retaliate against any military action against Wa.
Tensions between Wa State and Thailand increased in November 2024 over the presence of UWSA bases allegedly encroaching on Thai territory. Tensions High on Myanmar Border as Thai Troops Demand UWSA Withdrawal. The Irrawaddy. November 26, 2024.
Politics, society and law
Wa State is divided into northern and southern regions which are separated from one another, with the southern region bordering Thailand and consisting of 200,000 people.13 October 2011, , The total area of the region controlled by Wa State is approximately 27,000 kilometers. The political leaders of Wa State are mostly ethnic Wa people.
The working language of the Wa State government is Mandarin Chinese.Interactive Myanmar Map , The Stimson Center, Infomekong. Quote: "The official languages (designated by the current UWSP administration) are Mandarin and Wa." Southwest Mandarin and Wa are widely spoken by the population, with the language of education being Standard Chinese. Television broadcasts within Wa State are broadcast in both Mandarin and Wa. Commodities within Wa State are brought over from China, and the renminbi is commonly used for exchanges. China Mobile has cellular coverage over some parts of Wa State.
Government The Wa State government emulates many political features of the government of the People's Republic of China, having a central party known as the United Wa State Party, which also has a Central Committee and a Politburo. Wa State also has a Wa People's Congress and a Wa People's Political Consultative Conference, respectively mimicking the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Before the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, whilst Wa State was highly autonomous from the control of the central government in Naypyidaw,2009年9月, , IDE-JETRO2011年11月15日, , their relationship was based on peaceful coexistence and Wa State recognised the sovereignty of the central government over all of Myanmar.
Legal system The legal system in Wa State is based on the civil law system, with reference to the laws of China. As of at least 2015, Wa State imposes the death penalty (which is abolished at the national level in Myanmar) for armed assault, rape, murder, and child abuse. After being sentenced to death, prisoners are sent directly to the execution ground.
Labour camps exist in Wa State and relatives of those who are imprisoned or conscripted are often taken hostage by the state. The state is governed by a network of Maoist insurgents, traditional leaders such as headmen, businessmen, and traders, without democratic elections or the rule of law.
Most people do not have Chinese or Myanmar ID cards, but Wa State ID cards are often recognised in those countries. It is easy for citizens to enter them if they avoid the official border crossings.
Demographics The most-practiced religion, outnumbering Islam, Buddhism and folk religions, is Christianity, even though there are frequent crackdowns on it conducted by the Maoist government. An example for this is a campaign against churches built after 1992 in September 2018.
There used to be up to 100,000 Chinese nationals residing in Wa State, many of them engaging in business. In 2021, the Chinese government ordered them to return to their homeland to combat online fraud allegedly committed by many of them. The Chinese exodus has had a negative impact on the Wa economy.
Administrative divisions
Wa State is divided into districts (; ; ), special townships (; ; ) and an administrative affairs committee. Each district is further divided into townships (; ; ).
Below these are village tract-level administrations: village tracts (; ; ) and streets (; ). +LevelDistrict-levelTownship-levelVillage tractVillageDivision TypeSpecial Township ( / )Street ( / )Village tract ( / )Group ( / )Village ( / )District ( / )Township ( / )Administrative Affairs Committee
In the table above, names in apostrophes are in Wa/Mandarin order. Streets are metaphorical urban-type division name analogical to subdistricts of China and should not be understood literally. They are further subdivided into groups. Villages are rural counterparts of groups and are below townships.
In general, the Wa names of divisions follow the Romance naming order. For example, Veng Yaong Leen means Yaong Leen Township and is a veng (township) instead of a (natural settlement).
In the sections below, names in bold indicate district seats. Names with "quotation marks" are pinyin transcriptions of Mandarin while names in italics are Burmese transcriptions of Mandarin. Although Mandarin is one of the four working languages of Wa State, some Mandarin administrative names are non-canonical. For example, and are two different transcriptions of the same official Wa or Dai name of Pang Yang Township.
Northern area
Wa State's northern area is divided into four counties and one special township. Each district is further divided into townships; there are 25 townships in total.
Districts (, ): 1. (, , district seat) 2. (, ) 3. (, ) 4. (, ) (, ): 5. (, , district seat) 6. (, ) 7. (, ) 8. (, ) 9. (, ) 10. (, ) 11. (, ) 12. (, ) 13. (, ) 14. (, ) (, ): 15. (, ) 16. (, , district seat) 17. (, ) 18. (, ) 19. (, ) (, ): 20. (, ) 21. (, , district seat) 22. (, ) 23. (, ) 24. (, ) 25. (, )
Special township Pangkham Special Township (, ): Guanghong Village tract (, ) Na Lawt Village tract (, ) Nan Phat Village tract (, ) Tawng Aw Village tract (, ) Yaong Ting Village tract (, ) Man Mao Village tract (, )
Wa State overlaps with eight de jure townships designated by the Burmese government. The geographic relationship between townships (second level) and special townships (first level) of Wa State and townships of Shan State are listed below:
Hopang Township of Shan State Ho Pang Township Nang Teung Township Nawi Township Pang Long Township Mongmao Township of Shan State Kaung Ming Sang Township Man Ton Township Ling Haw Township Pangwaun Township of Shan State Ai Chun Township (Cawng Miang) Long Tan Township Panwai Township Taoh Mie Township (Kunma) Wangleng Township (Yaong Leen)
Namphan Township of Shan State Yingpan Township (Kawn Mau) Paleen Township Pangsang Township of Shan State Klawngpa Township Man Shiang Township Nakao Township Nawng Khiet Township Pangkham Special Township Matman Township of Shan State Pang Yang Township
Mong Yang Township of Shan State Hotao Township Meng Phing Township Mong Ka Township Mong Pawk Township Nam Phai Township
Mong Khet Township of Shan State Mong Ngen Township (Mong Ning)
On 15 January 2024, Hopang and Pan Lon are officially transferred to Wa State by Myanmar's government.
Southern area