CNI News

29 May 2025

Ethnic armed groups involved in the ongoing armed conflicts across Myanmar want to get political status like the “Wa” but they are unlikely to get so, military and political analysts told CNI News.

The political status that the Wa have achieved is not because of their strength but because of the Union government's magnanimity, and other armed groups do not have such opportunities, Dr. Aung Myo, a Burmese political analyst, told CNI News.

"The Kokang region is not as bad as the "Wa". The Kokang region was under the authority of the Theinni Sawbwa. In fact, they are people who entered Myanmar later. Kachin was not allowed to secede under the 1947 constitution. Palaung was also under the rule of the Theinni Sawbwa. The AA, the TNLA and all the rest ethnic groups have very close contact with the mainland. That's why they can't do what the "Wa" do. The "Wa" inherited the legacy of the Communist Party of Burma. They have benefited from China's development, and Myanmar successive governments have not paid much attention to them, saying they are "not important. That's why their autonomy is long-lasting. If they are too arrogant because they are too strong, they will be wrong. They have achieved these rights, depending on the magnanimities of the Union Governments. Other groups do not have these rights. Historically, they do not. They cannot be given these rights in the current social and economic context." said Dr. Aung Myo.

The Arakan Army has officially stated that it wants the same rights as the “Wa” people before the political changes of 2021, and in the current Myanmar political landscape, it wants a confederation that is no less than the “Wa.” 

Other ethnic armed groups have not officially stated what political status they want, but they also want a political status similar to the “Wa.”, said military and political observers.

The “Wa” and other ethnic armed groups are geographically different, and the “Wa” is unique because China is right at its back, so there is no need to worry about security, Dr. Hla Kyaw Zaw, an analyst on China-Myanmar affairs, told CNI News.

She said that leaders of some ethnic armed groups, including the Arakan Army, live in the “Wa” region, and that there are also weapons factories in the Wa region.

"It's necessary to know the Wa's unique characteristics. China is located at the back of the Wa. So there is no need to worry about its security. "Wa" is developing with China's Mekong River Basin Development Project. China also wants to show that "Wa" State or Mongla, no matter how poor or difficult it is, can be made prosperous if it is peaceful and stable. AA leader General Tun Myat Naing has said that he wants Rakhine State to become a confederate. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) didn't even give a state to the Wa but just a district. But the Wa leaders rule their region with their own system. It's true that other ethnic armed groups have always envied the Wa. That's why the revolutions are gaining momentum and starting to build their own regions," she said.

Although designated as a “Wa” self-administered division under the 2008 constitution, the political status of the “Wa” Army (UWSA) is that it has full sovereignty, except for not declaring independence. 

The six townships of Hopan, Mong Mao, Pang Wai, Nar Phan, Matman, and Pang Kham (Pang Sang) in Shan State were divided into two  districts and the region was designated as the “Wa” Self-Administered Division under the 2008 constitution.