“In every country, there is only one union army to defend the country. Even in the US, there is just one national army. No country has separate army for different states. All the army in different states and regions in Myanmar must be inducted into the Union army”, he said.

The Speaker also said, “Sharing administrative power during transition from an old system of government to a new one is not an easy task. It must be done in phases, with utmost sensitivity and rationality.”

The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) Central Organizing Committee member Sai Kham Pha said that induction of ethnic nationalities' army into the national army would raise a lot of questions.

“There will be many questions on this issue. What provisions do the current Constitution provide for formation of a national army? How will it be formed? Which ethnic nationality will be given which rank? What percentage of the national army will be for the security of each ethnic nationalities?”, he added.

Article 337 of the 2008 Constitution stipulates, “The main armed force for the defense of the Union is the Defence Services” and Article 338 stipulates, “All the armed forces in the Union shall be under the command of the Defence Services.”