During this conflict the Wa army occupied areas close to the Thai border, ending up with the control of two separate swathes of territory north and south of Kengtung.

[18] In 1990s the Wa Women's Association established an orphanage in Pangkham for children's whose parents were killed in fighting between UWSA and Shan forces.

[19] In August 2009, the United Wa State Army became involved in the Kokang incident, a violent conflict with Burma's military junta's Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw).

[12] The United Wa State Army also works with the ULFA-ATF, an Assam resistance group which launches attacks in India through mobile bases in Myanmar.

[20][21] In November 2023, the UWSA vowed to use force against armed incursions from both sides in the Myanmar civil war after Wa State was declared a neutral zone.

After his stroke in 1995, Bao Youxiang, the military commander of the UWSA, took over leadership, while Chao remained the General-Secretary of the United Wa State Party (UWSP) until he died at the age of 70 in 2009.

Youliang manages the headquarters of the northern Wa hills in Möng Mao[12] The first Deputy Commander-in-Chief was Li Ziru, an ethnically Chinese former Red Guard volunteer.

It is plausible that Li and other ethnic Chinese remained in the CPB splinter groups because China wanted to maintain influence even after the mutiny of 1989.

[30] The UWSA defied the military regime's recent demand to disarm and participate in the 2010 elections, and instead proposed to declare the territory under their control as a special autonomous region.

[32] The cease-fire agreement allowed the United Wa State Army to freely expand their logistical operations with the Burmese military, including the trafficking of drugs to neighbouring Thailand and Laos.

[35] With the help of the United Nations and the Chinese government, many opium farmers in Wa State shifted to the production of rubber and tea.

The UWSP on its part blamed both the Ne Win military government and the CPB for using the Wa as "pawns in the violent destructive games" and encouraging them to grow the opium poppy.

[39] In addition to the traditional Golden Triangle export of opiates, production has diversified to methamphetamine, or yaa baa, which is cheaper and easier to manufacture than heroin.

[further explanation needed][42] Poppy cultivation has declined in both northern Laos and the Wa region partly as a result of a ban imposed by the UWSP in 2005.

[43] In 1999, Bao Youxiang ordered a forced relocation, away from the poppy fields, of six northern Wa districts south to mainly Shan and Lahu areas.

Chinese criminal organisations in the area however may have simply switched the production line from heroin to amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) such as yaa baa.

[43] Wei Hsueh-kang founded the Hong Pang Group in 1998 with revenues from the drug trade after taking advantage of the privileges offered in the cease-fire deal by Khin Nyunt.

Its position in the country's economy, not just the Wa State, is reflected by the multitude of businesses it owns and controls in construction, agriculture, gems and minerals, petroleum, electronics and communications, distilleries and department stores.

Close to Khin Nyunt and several other generals in the junta, he was also involved in gems auctions and several large construction projects with the Yangon City Development Council.

[49] Aik Haw was included in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List published by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on 25 November 2008.

[50] Despite publicly declaring neutrality, the UWSA allegedly supplies weapons (with the exception of MANPADS) to anti-Junta groups such as the Three Brotherhood Alliance.

[34] The Chinese government uses former CPB forces like UWSA as proxies within Burma, and works to ensure the drugs they produce are not smuggled into China.