EASTERN SHAN STATE, Myanmar -- The divide and conquer tactics employed by Myanmar's ruling military junta to reign in ethnic insurgent militias on the Sino-Myanmar border have further agitated delicate ceasefire agreements with the formerly China-backed rebel groups. Escalating tensions with the junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), have prompted the largest of these players, the 20,000 strong United Wa State Army (UWSA), to re-supply its forces and bolster defenses in an apparent bid to deter a Myanmar Armed Forces attack on their largely autonomous enclave in Myanmar's Eastern Shan State, dubbed Special Region 2. Since the ouster of former SPDC strongman Gen. Khin Nyunt in October 2004 on corruption charges, the regime's strong-arm measures aimed at either disarming the various ceasefire militias or bringing them into the national fold as an integral part of the Myanmar Armed Forces, known as the Tatmadaw, are causing these formerly allied groups to close ranks internally.
On Myanmar-China Border, Tensions Escalate Between SPDC, Narco-Militias
