In rugged border terrain, Thai troops square off against the United Wa Army which protects a huge drug empire in Burma.
Don Pathan
The Nation
Doi Kiw Hoong, Chiang Mai
Standing at the peak of this hill overlooking the 32-square kilometres of disputed territory where about 1,200 Thai and Burmese troops are scattered on just about every ridge, regiment commander Colonel Supoj Buranayanee tries hard not to offend his counterparts just one hilltop away.
Not accustomed to nagging foreign press, the soft-spoken Supoj chose his words carefully as he explains the background of the disputed territory, Doi Lang, and how it is linked to a valley down the road, the site of Mong Yawn, a major stronghold for one of the world's largest armed drug trafficking group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA).
"We have an agreement between the local Thai and Burmese forces that we would not use force in the Doi Lang area. And if one side wishes to carry out any type of operation, the other side must be notified," Colonel Supoj said.
Curious foreign and local journalists, meanwhile, took turns with binoculars to see the much talked-about Wa town that has become the centre of a dispute between the Thai and Burmese governments.
For years, before Burmese opium warlord Khun Sa and his powerful Mong Tai Army (MTA) surrendered to the Rangoon government in January 1996 in return for amnesty, this region, like other rebel-controlled areas, had functioned as a buffer zone between the Thai and Burmese armies.
Besides being a buffer between the two armies, drug experts said the Doi Lang area also served as the gateway for some of the world's finest opium and heroin heading for major cities throughout the world. Today, the MTA is no more.
And for the past six years, both Thai and Burmese soldiers have sat and watched each other's moves, wondering what the unwanted neighbours are up to. They wave and smile at each other every now and then.
But in recent months, since the cross-border shelling between the two sides about 50 kilometres away in the Mae Sai-Tachilek area, as well as the latest demand by Rangoon that the Thai troops pull out of the area, nervousness has crept in. Like the previous decade when Thai soldiers were sent here to secure the border and curb the flow of opium and heroin coming out of MTA camps, today's troops are mandated to do pretty much the same thing.
Besides having a Burmese army watching their back, the Thai troops have to contend with the growing presence of the new king of the Golden Triangle, the UWSA, dubbed the world's largest armed drug trafficking group.
"Any of these points along the rugged border is accessible by foot," said Supoj, pointing to the vast rugged terrain that appeared to stretch endlessly.
Army officials say dealers from places like Bangkok and Hat Yai slip in and out of nearby Fang and Mae Ai districts to meet local agents who in turn hire local hilltribes to cross the border and transport the illicit drugs.
A mule is paid one baht for each of the methamphetamine pills they get across to the Thai side of the border from the clandestine laboratories, most of which are under the Wa's control. It's a very attractive deal considering the fact that the average annual per capita income of the local residents is about Bt30,000.
"In one trip they can make as much as they can |in one year from farming," Supoj said.
The growing demand for drugs among Thai addicts has, indeed, taking its toll on the army who appeared to be over-stretched from taking up two jobs - securing the border and fighting drugs. Just last week as the Third Army mobilised its troops to retake nearby Hua Lone hill from the Wa and Burmese troops, army officers admitted a "balloon affect" has been created - while one area is being squeezed, drug trafficking pops up in other spots along the border. So where is the Burmese government troops in all of this?
"The local Burmese officers are well aware of the illicit activities being carried out by the Wa and some of them benefit directly from the drug trade," said Colonel Chanchai Sundarakes, Third Army deputy chief-of-staff. "We bring this up with them but they always say they don't have control over the Wa's activities," he added.
The UWSA came into being in 1989 following the fall of the Communist Party of Burma, in which the Wa faction had served as foot soldiers.
Burmese security chief Lt-General Khin Nyunt rushed to sign a cease-fire with the group in order to neutralise a 20,000-strong army. In return, the Wa were given the green light to expand their heroin empire down to an area adjacent to the northern Thai border. Along the way, they clashed with archenemy Khun Sa and the MTA, hastening his surrender in January 1996.
But today, instead of opium and heroin for the world's market, methamphetamine pills have been added to the shopping list of the traffickers. And the market is the streets of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other major cities in Southeast Asia. The demand for methamphetamines, locally known as yaa baa, has risen in recent years and the amount being produced does not seem to satisfy the growing market.
Chanchai says the amount of trafficked methamphetamines has jumped from 20 million tablets in 1998 to somewhere between 400 and 600 million this year. Chanchai claimed that more than 30 clandestine heroin and methamphetamine labs are situated along the northern Thai Burmese.
Lt-Colonel Peeranate Temkhem, head of the Third Army's Pha Muang Task Force intelligence unit, said major shipments of methamphetamines and heroin are expected to be coming through in the next few weeks.
He pointed to the increase in the price of grade 4 heroin, which jumped from Bt230,000 to Bt280,000 for a unit of 700 grammes, which suggests a shortage of supply, as well as to what appears to be a growing demand for methamphetamines.
Many Thai army officers along the border admit their fight has been an uphill one. The Wa's drug money has not only built roads and irrigation systems for Shan State, but is being channelled to legitimate businesses directly under |them.
"They (Wa) are not just looking to get the drugs across the border. They are looking to expand their empire to other areas that are beyond most people's reach," Peeranate said.
