Wa engage in war games on the border

_{9 December 2008}

The exercises have been taking place at Mongyawn, only a few kilometers from Chiangmai’s Mae Ai district border since the beginning of December, he said.
 
About 1,000 Wa fighters were said to be involved in the drills, according to locals coming to the border.
 
The Burmese Army border units have also been placed on the alert, they said.
 
The war game in Mongyawn, Monghsat township, followed the meeting in Mongpawk, south of the Wa HQ Panghsang, on 5 December, between the Burma Army’s regional commander Kyaw Phyoe and the United Wa State Army (UWSA)’s 468th Brigade commander Sai Hsarm, according to a reliable source.
 
Kyaw Phyoe had reportedly broached the two issues that were still unresolved between the two sides: Withdrawal of Wa troops from the Thai border and the exchange of arms for peace.
 
To which the Wa commander had responded “like a Wa and a soldier that he was,” according to the source. “For more than ten years, we have been ordered to pull out from the south,” Sai Hsarm was reported as saying. “But we never did. And we are never going to give it up.”
 
As for the second question, he was blunter. “Sir, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Does it mean the Wa region is not at peace because we are holding arms? On the contrary, it is at peace because we are holding arms. We are therefore never going to give them up as long as we’re alive.”
 
The meeting abruptly ended with his reply, reported the source.
 
The Burma Army’s buildup along the Wa-Mongla had begun after the event, he added.
 
The written report by the source however did not mention the other unresolved issue: For Wa to withdraw from Mongpawk and Mongla from Hsaleu, both of which are considered to be under the jurisdiction of Mongyang township.
 
The Wa, with 6 townships, have already been granted as Self-Administered Region and Mongla a township status.