Brig-Gen Win Maung, the commander of the Regional Operation Command based in Laogai, was arrested in early September for his failure to detain Kokang leader Peng Jiasheng and his brothers, according to military sources.

Sources said he was arrested shortly after clashes between government troops and the armed militia supporting Peng Jaisheng.

Lt-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of the Bureau of Special Operations-2 (BSO) which oversees troops in the Northeast, East and Triangle Regional Military Commands, was believed to have ordered the arrest.

The BSO-2 chief, the former commander of the Triangle Regional Command, supervised the operation against the Kokang militia, known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

Brig-Gen Hla Myint of the Northeast Regional Military Command has replaced Win Maung as chief of the Regional Operation Command in Laogai, which has 10 battalions.

“The junta expected a better preemptory strike and the arrest of Peng Jiasheng and his close aides,” a source said.

Government troops seized the Kokang capital of Laogai on Aug. 24 after determining that the Kokang had one of the weakest positions of ethnic groups along the Sino-Burmese border.

The junta deployed about 20 battalions in the Kokang operation. Following skirmishes, more than 1,500 Kokang militia crossed the border and handed over their arms to Chinese officials on August 29.

Border sources now estimate about 60 government soldiers and police, including one lieutenant colonel, were killed in the fighting, and more than 100 government personnel were injured.

 
During the 20 years of ethnic cease-fire agreements, many cease-fire groups such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) have increased their military readiness. The UWSA now has at least 20,000 troops including an artillery brigade and anti-aircraft weapons.

Analysts note that the government has also benefited from the cease-fire agreements in many ways, such as the construction of roads into insurgent areas. An academic thesis in June 2009 from the US Naval Postgraduate School in California also noted that the government’s policy on illegal drugs can be considered a success in terms of its counter insurgency strategy, since the drug trade has been as a source of funds for ethnic cease-fire groups.