Increased security measures imposed by both Wa and the junta have become an agony for people making a living by going in and out of Wa controlled territory, according to sources on the Sino-Burma border.

Towards the end of September, Wa officials in Panghsang made a seizure of IDs carried by Burmans and ethnic Indians working there. “They made a haul of more than 200 IDs,” said a source close to the Wa leadership. “They also assured both the Burmans and (ethnic) Indians that the cards would be returned once they decided to leave.”

The next day, traders coming across Ta Gawng-et, the bridge that spans the Salween and marks the border between Tangyan (junta controlled) and Manghseng (Wa controlled) on their way to Panghsang, the Wa capital, were told they were free to go in but without their goods: beans, dried fish, onions, pickled mustard and such.

“The torture went on for two days before the Burmese authorities decided to return to normal procedure,” a driver told SHAN. “Maybe it’s because the Burman residents in Panghsang were not subjected to mistreatment other than confiscating their cards.”

China had also ordered owners to put away their boats criss-crossing the Namkha, the river between its Meng Ah (Mong Nga to Shan) and the Wa’s Panghsang since early September, according to sources. “They said both the people should use only the Namkha Bridge to visit each other,” said a Shan resident of Panghsang.

Growing tension between the two sides began in 2009, when the Wa turned down Naypyitaw’s demand to place its armed units under the Burmese Army. Both the Wa and its allies say no disarmament can be expected from them unless Naypyitaw responds positively to their call for self-rule.