Kokang
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 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 |
| 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 in Myanmar. It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area is around 1,895 square kilometers (732 sq mi). The capital is Laukkai. Kokang is mostly populated by the ethnic Han Kokang people, a group of descent living in Myanmar.
Kokang had been historically part of China for several centuries and is still claimed by the Republic of China to this day, but was largely left alone by successive governments due to its remote location. After the British conquest of Upper Burma in 1885, Kokang was initially placed in China under the 1894 Sino-British boundary convention and ceded to British Burma in February 1897.
From the 1960s to 1989, the area was controlled by the Communist Party of Burma, and after the party's armed wing disbanded in 1989 it became a special region of Myanmar under the control of the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). Armed conflicts between the MNDAA and the Tatmadaw have resulted in the 2009 Kokang incident and the 2015 Kokang offensive. The MNDAA refers to the territory as the "People's Government of Kokang".