[6][7] It was founded on 3 November 1989 as a merger between the communist Burma National United Party (BNUP) and several smaller, non-communist Wa groups.

[8] Its armed wing is the United Wa State Army (UWSA), and its chairman and commander in chief is Bao Youxiang.

[1] The party enjoys excellent relations with China, dating to the days of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), from which it emerged in 1989; its leaders liaise directly with Chinese military intelligence, and have received a steady flow of military and financial assistance from Beijing.

By 1989, there was great tension between the Wa who did the actual fighting and the leadership of the CPB that was largely composed of ethnic Bamar intellectuals.

[16] In November 2023, the UWSP declared Wa State a neutral zone in the Myanmar civil war after the Three Brotherhood Alliance conducted Operation 1027 against the Tatmadaw.