On October 9th, 2014 a letter signed by the Minister of Border Affairs and Security Col Aung Tu was sent to the SSPP/SSA telling it to withdraw its troops and bases from the areas of Kun Parng Kun Kone, Nam Si Zeng and Loi-lang in Murng Kao tract, Tangyan township, Northern Shan State, to the west of the Nam Pang river.

“The Myanmar army, have accused our troops of trespassing into the area of Loi-lang and Nam Si Zeng. This is a shameless accusation. It was the Burma Army that broke the 1947 Panglong Agreement and claimed that they had come to Shan State to help the Shans drive out the Kuomintang and since then the Burma Army has refused to leave Shan State. Therefore, if they invade we will use every means to defend our territories. This is our mother-land,” said one of the SSPP/SSA commanders at the frontline.

The Burma Army insisted that they had to use force and conduct their recent offensive because the SSPP/SSA had refused to withdraw their troops from the Ta Pha Saung base, into which they had “trespassed.” However, even after the SSPP/SSA withdrew their troops from Ta Pha Saung, the Burma army still attacked other SSPP/SSA bases from which they had not been asked to withdraw. These included Nam Put, Kong Mark Hin Tarn, Kong Mike Nyaung, Kong Mak Mong Lao and Kong Sao Merng.

An unnamed SSPP/SSA central committee officer said: “This has the potential to ruin the peace process. We have heard that there could be more fighting in the areas along the west of the Salween River. Whether the nationwide ceasefire agreement is signed or not will make no difference. Though we have been trying to negotiate, they continue to put us under this sort of military pressure.”

The SSPP/SSA signed a ceasefire with Naypyitaw on 28th January 2012 at the union level.