Two border passes opposite Chiangmai’s Chiangdao district have been ordered closed since February 5 when a Wa soldier, who strayed across the border, while hunting was killed by a Thai border security force, according to Thai and Shan sources.
The closure of Nawngwen-Muengna pass and BP1-Nong Ook (Arunothai) pass was ordered by Yang Guojong, the 775th’s commander. “He called me up and just let off steam,” said a Shan who lives in Thailand. “He spoke as though I were the Thai officer who was responsible for the death of his man.”
The Wa soldier, who was unidentified, was from the 775th’s 303rd Battalion, stationed at Nawng Wen, Mongton township. The Thai Army seized one AK 47 automatic rifle and detained one of his two companions. The other escaped back across the border. No drugs were found on their persons. Both the weapon and the man are still under Thai custody, according to a Thai source.
The two passes are the most used among the several mountain cross border routes, due to their connection to the motor roads. “You pay 500 baht ($15) for transportation and 800 baht ($24) to the Burmese Army, Wa Army and militias for each trip,” said a source who lives on the border. “It is quite expensive of course, the distance being only 29 miles (46 km) from Nakawngmu to the border. But it’s more convenient and faster than the mountain trails.”
Despite the resulting tension between the Thai Army and the UWSA, one Thai security official does not think it will result in any exchange of hostilities. “The Wa should know they can’t have two enemies at the same time,” he said. “If they choose to fight us, it’ll be the Burmese who will win in the end.”
The UWSA had joined the Burmese Army in its military confrontations with Thailand in 2001 and 2002, seven years before it was pressured last year to exchange its independent status to junta-run militia status.
