Any military operation against the Wa army could result in a protracted and bloody civil war. Although the UWSA has the freedom to produce and drug smuggling, Southeast Asia remains awash with opium, heroin and amphetamines. The explosion of amphetamines, particularly the threat of destabilizing the region economically and military. Myanmar produces around 800 million tablets of amphetamines of one year and the vast majority are produced in the UWSA territory and moved to Thailand. Thailand believes that the flow of amphetamines among the 1,800 km of the border as a threat serious national security.
The market of the country has around three million users of amphetamines and more than one million drug addicts. Crime and drug related violence have threatened national security. The current crisis has aggravated tensions between Thailand and Myanmar. The requirements of Thailand to Myanmar to cease production of illicit drugs in Wa go unnoticed. The army of Thailand has increased interdiction operations and incursions in drug production along the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Brief but violent border clashes are common. In addition, Thailand has periodically closed adjacent to the UWSA territory border crossings.
The UWSA has thousands of civilian and military of Shan (SSA), a rebel movement that is very involved in the traffic of drugs in possession of the. The UWSA is working with the military to crush the rebellion in Myanmar and expand its control of the markets of narcotic drugs. Myanmar, Thailand has accused of supporting the rebels of Shan disguised as a way of undermining the UWSA and disrupt the flow of amphetamines in Thailand. The production and trafficking of drugs are still the tension in the relations between Myanmar and Thailand and threaten stability in neighbouring States.