The advent of the era of warlord secession in northern Burma
The civil war in Myanmar has been going on since the 60s of the last century. Armed forces of various ethnic groups have been fighting for autonomy and independence with the forces of the central government of Myanmar. Among them, due to its special geographical location, the Shan State region has been an important town for warlords since ancient times.
Shan State is bordered by Yunnan to the north, Tibet to the northeast, Thailand to the south, and Assam to the west. This area has been a major trade route since ancient times, and there are constant disputes between ethnic groups. During the Qing Dynasty, Shan State was once ruled by China. In 1885, after the British took control of Burma, Shan State was included in the Burma territory. However, due to the harsh geographical environment, the central government of Myanmar has been unable to effectively control the area.
After the end of World War II, Myanmar gained independence, but the civil war continued. Armed forces of various ethnic minorities have exchanged fire frequently with Burmese government forces in order to fight for autonomy. Among them, the Wa, Kokang and Burmese all have huge armed forces in the Shan region. They continued to expand their territory and tried to establish their own regime in Shan State.
In 1989, the Kokang Allied Army, led by Peng Jiasheng, occupied Kokang County and continued to expand its territory in the following years. By 2015, they controlled more than 10,000 square kilometres, almost 5 percent of Myanmar's territory. At the same time, other armed forces, such as the United Wa State Army and Lim Minh Hsien's Four Special Administrative Regions, have also raised troops in the Shan State to seize territory.
The civil war escalated further in February 2021 following a military coup in Myanmar. Armed groups have taken advantage of the situation and intensified their attacks on the Burmese junta. The Kokang Alliance, under the command of Peng Deren, continued to expand its territory, and soon occupied 10,000 square kilometers of territory four times the size of Kokang County.
In the face of the onslaught of the Kokang Allied Army, the United Wa State Army was not to be outdone. They took the initiative and seized the Dangyang area controlled by the Burmese junta. Allegedly, the United Wa forces possess advanced weaponry such as drones, flamethrowers, artillery, and even chemical weapons. Even more alarming was the fact that they attacked at night, preventing the Tatmadaw from using its air superiority. The tactics were brutal, not only "roasting" the Burmese army with flamethrowers, but also spreading lime and poisons. In the face of such a ferocious attack, the Burmese army was defeated and forced to withdraw from Dangyang.
The iron rule of the warlords
In this field dispute, the warlords on all sides have resorted to all kinds of brutal methods and outrageous behaviors. With advanced weaponry, the United Wa State Army launched a fierce attack on the Burmese junta army.
The United Wa Army has a large arsenal of modern weapons, including drones, flamethrowers, artillery, and even chemical weapons. They even chose to attack at night, so that the Burmese army could not exert air superiority. According to eyewitness accounts, the attack methods of the combined Wa forces were extremely brutal. Not only did they "burn the Burmese army alive" with flamethrowers, but they also spread lime and poison to suffocate the Burmese army in a violent cough. In the face of such a ferocious attack, the Burmese army was defeated and finally forced to withdraw from the Dangyang area on all fronts.
The Kokang Alliance, under the command of Peng Deren, also demonstrated great military strength in this war. They continued to expand their territory, and soon occupied 10,000 square kilometers of territory four times the size of Kokang County. According to eyewitnesses, the armed personnel of the Kokang Allied Forces are well-trained, well-equipped and of extremely high combat quality. When dealing with the Burmese army, they often preemptively encircled and forced their opponents to retreat.
Although Lin Mingxian's four special regions have relatively few troops, they are also a force to be reckoned with in this war. They have a large number of heavy weapons, such as rocket artillery, anti-tank missiles, etc., which are enough to fight the tanks and armored vehicles of the Tatmadaw army. What is even more shocking is that the four SAR armies even have a small air force of former Myanmar Air Force pilots, with a number of old fighter jets and transport aircraft.
Faced with the onslaught of warlords, the Burmese junta's forces were defeated and eventually had to withdraw from most of Shan State. According to the analysis of some military experts, the reason why the Burmese army is at a disadvantage in this war is largely due to outdated equipment and insufficient training. In contrast, the armed forces of the various warlords are not only well-equipped, but also experienced in combat and extremely tenacious in their will to fight.
The infighting of the warlords
Although the warlords temporarily formed alliances in this war, the infighting between them never stopped. Although Peng Deren occupies a huge territory of 10,000 square kilometers, Lin Mingxian is jealous of it.
Lin Mingxian's territory in the four special zones is only 5,000 square kilometers, far inferior to Peng Deren's Kokang allies. As an ambitious warlord, Lin Mingxian was not willing to stop there. So, he took the opportunity to send troops, but in fact he wanted to expand his territory and regain a piece of the Shan pie.
Lim Minh Hien's excuse for sending troops was to support the United Wa State Army against Burmese junta forces. But in fact, he took a fancy to the Dangyang area that the Wa coalition army had already occupied. Once the Wa coalition forces were driven away, this fertile territory would naturally fall into the hands of Lin Mingxian.
In order to achieve this goal, Lim Mingxian did not hesitate to use his pro-Burmese status to confuse the public and make the outside world mistakenly believe that he was supporting the Burmese government army. He also secretly put pressure on the Wa coalition to withdraw from Dangyang and cede this territory. （
However, the Wa coalition forces were naturally reluctant to give up the territory they had already occupied. As a result, the two sides clashed violently and once fell into a situation of bloody confrontation. Eventually, under the mediation of the Chinese side, Lin Mingxian and the Wa coalition forces reached a temporary agreement on the distribution of the spoils, and the two sides demarcated their respective control areas in the Dangyang area.
However, this expedient measure does not solve the problem at the root. The contradictions between Lin Mingxian and the Wa coalition forces still exist, and bloody clashes may break out again at any time. In the turbulent land of Shan State, it looks set that the infighting among the warlords will continue.
Family strife among the warlords
What's even more interesting is that family feuds also play an important role in this war for turf. Although Lin Mingxian and Peng Deren are allies, there is still a family relationship between them.
It turned out that Lin Mingxian was Peng Jiasheng's son-in-law, and Peng Deren was Peng Jiasheng's son. In other words, Lin Mingxian and Peng Deren are considered to be the relationship between brother-in-law and eldest brother-in-law. It stands to reason that the two should be like brothers, but in this war, they are on opposite sides.
Peng Jiasheng was originally the supreme commander of the Kokang Allied Army, and was arguably one of the most powerful warlords in the Shan region. But as he grew older, he had difficulty controlling the army. As a result, Peng Jiasheng handed over the supreme command of the army to his son Peng Deren.
After Peng Deren took over the army, he immediately showed outstanding command skills. Under his command, the Kokang Allied forces continued to expand their territory, and soon occupied a vast territory of 10,000 square kilometers. This made Lin Mingxian very unwilling, because his territory in the four special zones is only 5,000 square kilometers.
As a result, Lin Mingxian began to secretly provoke the relationship between Peng Deren and Peng Jiasheng. He hinted to Peng Deren that Peng Jiasheng was too old and faint to control power at all, so it was better to oust him from power directly. Although Peng Deren hesitated about this, he finally chose to follow Lin Mingxian's advice.
In this way, a family infighting broke out. Peng Deren threatened with force to force Peng Jiasheng to hand over the post of supreme commander of the army. From then on, the Kokang Alliance Army completely fell into the hands of Peng Deren alone. Peng Jiasheng, who was ousted from power, could only go into exile in other parts of Myanmar alone.
This family feud has undoubtedly further exacerbated the unrest in the Shan region. For a time, the contradictions between the various warlords became more acute, and the war intensified. Shan State, once a land of peace and tranquility, has once again fallen into a situation filled with gunsmoke.