Troops of both the Burmese Army and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) have withdrawn, making the road from Thailand’s Maesai to the Shan State East’s Chinese border town of Mongla crowded with Chinese tourists and Chinese cargo 14 tonners, according to tourists from Thailand who recently returned from a four-day venture into Burma.
“Around 99.9 per cent of the people we met in Mongla (250 km north of Maesai) were Chinese,” said a 60-year old tourist. “When we went into a casino in Wan Hsio (16 km before Mongla), one of the proprietors greeted us saying, ‘Welcome to China.’
All the shops, many of them closed on their previous visit last year, were all open.
“We also saw new buildings under construction,” said his companion. “Business in the red light district of Mongla also appeared to be picking up again. We found more girls than we did last year.”
Among hundreds of vehicles plying on Mongla’s streets are those from its closest ally the United Wa State Army (UWSA). Their number plates are easily identified by the prefixes WA, WB, WC, WD, WE, WF, WG and WH. “We ran into few NWs and SWs (that are allowed to use junta-controlled roads) in Mongla,” said one of the sources.
“The scenes reminded us of the boom before 2005 (when Mongla’s casinos were forced to close by China),” he added.
Since the Mekong went dry last month, cross border trade between Thailand and China’s Yunnan is being handled overland by trucks, through Burma’s Shan State East and Laos. “Northern Laos used to have 50 trucks per month,” said a businessman in Chiangrai. “Now we are seeing 50 trucks a day.”
Long time residents say the present boom, or rather re-boom, are deceptive. “While we are happy with the return of good business, all of us are still worried about the threatened breakdown of ceasefire between NDAA and the junta,” said a local Shan. “That’s why we are ever prepared to leave Mongla on short notice.”
The tourists did not witness any significant troop concentrations anywhere on the road to Mongla. But one local passenger told them there were hundreds of soldiers, both from the Burmese Army and NDAA around Taping, the crossing of the Lwe, which is the natural boundary between the two sides, just before the end of February. “We indeed noticed some new bunkers on the Burmese Army’s side of the river,” said the tourist who has known Burma for more than 30 years. “And we also found old bunkers of the CPB (Communist Party of Burma) by the NDAA. We never knew they existed until now, because they were all covered with natural vegetation. But now all these have been cleared to have a clear field of fire.”
Meanwhile, a four-member NDAA delegation led by vice presidents Hsam Per and Hsang Lu were said to have been holding a close door three-day meeting with the Wa leadership in Panghsang, from 2 to 4 March. “No details have emerged yet,” said the source there. “But the relationship between the two is good, especially after the assassination of Min Ein (NDAA General Secretary, in January).”
Both and their allies, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Shan State Army (SSA) North, have been up in arms against Naypyitaw’s demand to convert themselves into Burmese Army run militias known as Border Guard Forces (BGFs) unless their right of autonomy is guaranteed by Naypyitaw.
The Burmese Army is deploying 70,000 troops to confront the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and its allies, Irrawaddy quoted military officials in Muse as saying.
