Mong La Township (Shan: ၸႄႈဝဵင်းမိူင်းလႃး, Burmese: မိုင်းလားမြို့နယ်) is a subdivision of Kengtung District, Shan State, Myanmar. The area borders China and Laos.[2] The principal town is Mong La.

Mong La
မိူင်းလႃး
Mong La is located in Myanmar
Mong La
Mong La
Location in Burma
Coordinates: 21°40′0″N 100°0′0″E / 21.66667°N 100.00000°E / 21.66667; 100.00000
CountryBurma
StateShan State
DistrictKengtung District
Elevation645 m (2,116 ft)
Time zoneUTC+6:30 (MST)

Sharing a border with China, the Mong La area is a center for the production and traffic of narcotics[3] and illegal wildlife trade.[4] It offers gambling and prostitution to Chinese tourists in an unregulated environment outside Myanmar government control.[5]

History

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The Mong La region was Special Region Number 4 of Shan before the new constitution (2008).[6] It hosts the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and its leader Lin Mingxian aka Sai Leun.[7] It was the #815 War Zone of the former Communist Party of Burma (CPB).[8] In 2008 the United Wa State Army (UWSA) strongly opposed the move to give away the adjacent area of Mong Pawk from its control because it serves as a link with its ally, the NDAA in Mong La.[9]

References

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  1. ^ GoogleEarth
  2. ^ "Myanmar Information Management Unit : Shan State Map" (PDF). Themimu.info. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  3. ^ "Mongla seizes precursors from Thailand". Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  4. ^ "Myanmar's wildlife trafficking hotspot". 19 June 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Undercover in Myanmar's Sin city where anything goes" (Video). BBC News. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Mong La, Burma | BootsnAll Travel Articles". Bootsnall.com. 1999-06-01. Archived from the original on 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  7. ^ Michael Black and Roland Fields. "Virtual gambling in Myanmar's drug country".Asia Times 26 August 26, 2006
  8. ^ "The National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2017.[not specific enough to verify]
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