Kokang ကိုးကန့် /果敢 | |
|---|---|
 Location of Kokang in Shan State and Myanmar | |
| Highest point | 2,548 m |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,895 km2 (732 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,000 m (3,300 ft) |
| Population (2009) | |
• Total | 150,000 |
| • Density | 79/km2 (210/sq mi) |
Special Region 1 of the Union of Myanmar Kokang | |
|---|---|
 Flag _Coat_of_Arms_(Improved_and_Upscaled).png) Emblem | |
| Anthem:共赴荣昌 (Chinese) "Achieving prosperity together" | |
 Interactive map of Special Region 1 of the Union of Myanmar | |
| Country | Myanmar |
| State | Shan State |
| Formation of the SR1–SS | 3 January 1990[1]: 21 |
| MNDAA lost power | August 2009 |
| MNDAA regained power | 5 January 2024 |
| Capital | Laukkai |
| Official languages | |
| Government | |
• Chairman | Peng Daxun |
• Vice Chairman | Li Laobao |
• Secretary-General | Song Kecheng |
| Area | |
• Total | 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,548 m (8,360 ft) |
| Population | |
• 2009 estimate | 150,000 |
| Currency | Renminbi |
| Time zone | UTC+6:30 (MMT) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +86 (0)883 |
Kokang (Burmese:ကိုးကန့်;Chinese:果敢;pinyin:Guǒgǎn;Wade–Giles:Kuo-kan) is a region inMyanmar. It is located in the northern part ofShan State, with theSalween River to its west, and sharing a border with China'sYunnan Province to the east. Its total land area is around 1,895 square kilometers (732 sq mi).[2] The capital isLaukkai. Kokang is mostly populated by the ethnic HanKokang people, a group of descent living in Myanmar.
Kokang had been historically part of China for several centuries and is still claimed by theRepublic of China to this day, but was largely left alone by successive governments due to its remote location. After theBritish conquest ofUpper Burma in 1885, Kokang was initially placed in China under the 1894 Sino-British boundary convention and ceded toBritish Burma in February 1897.
From the 1960s to 1989, the area was controlled by theCommunist Party of Burma, and after the party's armed wing disbanded in 1989 it became a special region of Myanmar under the control of theMyanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Armed conflicts between the MNDAA and theTatmadaw have resulted in the2009 Kokang incident and the2015 Kokang offensive. The MNDAA refers to the territory as the "People's Government of Kokang".[3]
The name Kokang derives from the Burmeseကိုးကန့်, which itself derives from theShanၵဝ်ႈ (kāo, "nine") +ၵူၼ်း (kúun, "family") orၵၢင် (kǎang, "guard").
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(September 2025) |
Kokang is located in the northern part ofShan State, with theSalween River to its west, and sharing a border with China'sYunnan Province to the east. Its total land area is around 1,895 square kilometers (732 sq mi).[2] Kokang´s capital isLaukkai.
Kokang and the Shan state is situated on theSibumasu Block, a geographical microcontinent that stretches across south-east asia, from Tibet to Peninsular Thailand.[4] The region is predominantly sedimentary rock from the Palaezoic era.[5]
In 2009, the population was reported to be around 150,000.[2] Of these, around 100,000 people held Burmese nationality, the remainder being from China. Of the Burmese nationality, 90% are ethnicKokang people, a group ofYunnanese descent living in Myanmar.[6]
Yang Xiancai (simplified Chinese:杨献才;traditional Chinese:楊獻才;pinyin:Yáng Xiàncái) founded the chiefdomXingdahu (simplified Chinese:兴达户;traditional Chinese:興達戶;pinyin:Xīng Dáhù) in 1739 in and around Ta Shwe Htan. The name was changed toKokang kingdom by his successors. In 1840, the Yunnan governor officially recognised the Yang chiefs of Kokang the hereditary rights as the rulers of Kokang.[7] After theBritish conquest ofUpper Burma in 1885, Kokang was initially placed in China under the 1894 Sino-British boundary convention. It was ceded toBritish Burma in a supplementary agreement signed in February 1897.[8]
From 1824 to 1948 Burma was aBritish colony. The region formed ade facto buffer zone between the ChineseprovinceYunnan and theShan States kingdom of what was then Burma.[7]After theBritish conquest ofUpper Burma in 1885, Kokang was initially placed in China under the 1894 Sino-British boundary convention. It was ceded to theBritish colony in a supplementary agreement signed in February 1897.[8]
From 1948–1962 several factions of Communist parties ruled during what is called theUnion of Burma (1948–1962). Northern Burma was under the influence ofKuomintang in Burma. Burma was ruled by theCommunist Party of Burma until 1989.
In 1989Peng Jiasheng'sMyanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) took control of the region. A ceasefire between the group and theTatmadaw was signed in the same year, the area controlled by MNDAA was assigned as the autonomous "First Special Region" ofShan State (Chinese:缅甸掸邦第一特区;Burmese:မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်အထူးဒေသ (၁)).
In 2003, a ban on theopium poppy came into effect.[9]
The 2008 Myanmar Constitution defines Kokang as aself-administered zone.Kongyan Township and Laukkai Township akaLaukkaing Township are grouped together to formKokang Self-Administered Zone, which replaced the "First Special Region".[10]
In 2009, the Tatmadaw asked that the MNDAA become a border guard under the army's direction. The MNDAA refused, and the armed forces ousted the group and took over the region.[11]
In August 2009, Kokang was the site of a violent conflict, theKokang incident, between junta forces and various ethnic armies.[12] As a result of the conflict theMNDAA lost control of the area and as many as 30,000refugees fled toYunnan province in neighboringChina.[13]
On 17 February 2015 Myanmar presidentThein Sein declared a state of emergency and a three-month period of martial law in Kokang in response to fighting between government troops and theMyanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a Kokang insurgent group.[14]
In November 2023, the MNDAA began encircling and attacking Laukkai as part of Operation 1027, a joint effort by theThree Brotherhood Alliance coalition during therenewed civil war following the2021 Myanmar coup d'état.[15]
The MNDAA successfully encircled and captured Laukkai, the capital of theKokang Self-Administered Zone, with key victories inChinshwehaw and other strategic border towns, leading to the surrender of the Tatmadaw's military andBorder Guard Forces in Laukkai by December 26, ultimately securing control of the city by December 28.[16]
In September 2025, China sentenced 16 members of the Ming family (formerly headed by Ming Xuechang), atransnational crime syndicate from Kokang to death. They had built multiplescam factories with scammers obtained throughhuman trafficking, held in prison like compounds. They also engaged online gambling,drug trafficking and organized prostitution.[17]
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