Mong Ko (; zh, c=勐古, p=Měng gǔ), sometimes spelled Mongko or Monekoe and also known as Man Kan, Man Guo and Panglong,
is a town in
Mu Se Township,
Mu Se District, northern
Shan State
Shan State (, ; , ) is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha Province, Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai Province, Chia ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
.
Like many towns in the region, Mong Ko is known to be a hotspot for drug production and trade.
Geography
Mong Ko lies by the
China–Myanmar border
The China–Myanmar border is the international border between the territory of the People's Republic of China and Myanmar (formerly ''Burma''). The border is 2,129 km (1,323 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with India in the nor ...
, 25 km east of
Pang Hseng (Kyu Koke). There is a border checkpoint in the town. The town on the Chinese part of the border is
Manghai in
Mangshi
Mangshi ( zh, c=芒市, w=Mangshih; ; Jingpho language, Jingpho: ), former name Luxi ( zh, labels=no , c=潞西), is a county-level city and the seat of Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in western Yunnan province, China. Mangshi has an ...
county-level city,
Yunnan Province
Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
.
History
The
Communist Party of Burma
The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is an underground communist party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country.
Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fo ...
(CPB) entered Shan State on New Year Day 1968, captured Mong Ko, and established the first war zone ‘303’ of the CPB North-East Command (NEC). This was quickly followed by ‘404’ in
Kokang substate winning over the local warlord
Pheung Kya-shin
Pheung Kya-shin (; ; 26 January 1932 – 16 February 2022) was the chairman of the Shan State Special Region No. 1 in Myanmar (Burma) and the leader of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) from 1989 to 2009.
Biography
Pheung w ...
.
For 20 years Pheung controlled Kokang as a member of the Communist Party of Burma.
In 1989, however, the CPB split up
[ and Pheung established his own army, the ]Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is an armed Insurgency, resistance group in the Kokang region of Myanmar (Burma). The army has existed since 1989, having been the first one to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese gov ...
,[ with which he mutinied and captured Mong Ko town. After this he signed a cease-fire with the military junta, which allowed the Kokang army to retain their weapons, and established an autonomous Kokang region as the "First Special Region" of Myanmar.]Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...
launched an offensive to capture Mong Ko on 20 November 2016. The town was recaptured by the Myanmar Army
The Myanmar Army (; ) is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar, and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southea ...
in December 2016.
On November 7 2023 the Brotherhood Alliance
The Three Brotherhood Alliance (); ( zh, 三兄弟联盟), also known as Brotherhood Alliance, is an alliance between the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army formed in June 2019.
Th ...
, which consists of most of the same members of the Northern Alliance, established control over the town, raising the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is an armed Insurgency, resistance group in the Kokang region of Myanmar (Burma). The army has existed since 1989, having been the first one to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese gov ...
(MNDAA) flag over the border bridge.
Further reading
Myanmar: IDP Sites in Kachin and northern Shan States - Mimu
References
External links
{{Border Crossings of Myanmar
Populated places in Shan State
China–Myanmar border crossings