A junta delegation and a Chinese government mediation team are due to visit Panghsang, the administrative capital of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in the Wa Self-Administered Division of Shan State.

According to a member of an unnamed resistance group familiar with the matter who spoke to Shan Herald, there will be a meeting in Panghsang ahead of Thingyan, the traditional Myanmar New Year water festival that starts on 13 April. Attending will be the junta, the Chinese delegation, UWSA officials and possibly a delegation from the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC) a coalition of seven ethnic armed organisations (EAOs), including the UWSA.

He said: “The delegation's heading to Panghsang before Thingyan, but it's still unclear whether they'll meet just the UWSA or the whole FPNCC. Who's actually going on the junta's side hasn’t been revealed yet either.”

The announcement about the meeting in Panghsang coincided with announcements by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a member of the FPNCC, that it will withdraw from Lashio, a major city in northern Shan State it has controlled since 25 July 2024.

The MNDAA is leaving Lashio following pressure from China. Originally the MNDAA had agreed to leave Lashio by 21 April 2025. But apparently, the date by which the MNDAA needs to vacate Lashio has been moved forward to 17 April, according to some unconfirmed reports from Lashio City residents.

Following the MNDAA’s withdrawal from Lashio City, on 22 April, China will be mediating a meeting between MNDAA and junta delegations in China’s Kunming City.

Lashio residents have speculated that once the MNDAA troops fully withdraw, junta and UWSA forces will take control of the city and manage its civil service sectors, including healthcare. However, Shan Herald has not yet been able to verify these claims and is still investigating them.

UWSA troops have been in Lashio since 27 July 2024 when they entered under the pretext of protecting the UWSA’s External Relations Office in the city.  At the same time the UWSA also deployed troops to Tangyan Town in Shan State under the same pretext.

Photo caption: The junta head and leaders of the UWSA, NDAA, and SSPP/SSA during a meeting in Naypyidaw, 2022