[3][4] During the 1960s, the Burmese Communist Party controlled large areas of Kokang, but as it began to disintegrate in the 1980s, Pheung Kya-shin (Peng Jiasheng) established the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).

[8] A coup d'état took place on 1 February 2021, resulting in a military junta taking control of the country and triggering a civil war.

On 28 December it was reported that "most" of the regional capital, Laukkai, was now under MNDAA control, with junta forces largely abandoning the city.

[9] The MNDAA gained full control of Laukkai following a mass surrender of the last junta forces in the city on 5 January 2024.

The Leading Body has competence in ten areas of policy, including urban and rural development, road construction and maintenance, and public health.

[15] On 3 February 2021, shortly after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, the State Administration Council (SAC) appointed Myint Swe, a former Union Solidarity and Development Party lawmaker as the chairman of the Kokang SAZ.

[17] A few days earlier, China had issued arrest warrants for junta-aligned cybercrime ringleader Ming Xuechang and three other family members for their involvement in online scamming operations.