Myanmar Spring Chronicle – Scenes from February 12
MoeMaKa), February 13, 2026
The Panglong Agreement and the Root Causes of Civil War
As the Panglong Agreement—signed on February 12, 1947, nearly a year before independence from British colonial rule—reaches its 79th anniversary, around 70 percent of Myanmar’s territory is engulfed in civil war.
One of the primary reasons the civil war that has burned since independence has never been extinguished—and why large parts of the country have repeatedly fallen back into armed conflict—is the failure to build a genuine federal Union. After gaining independence on January 4, 1948, and before the military coup in 1962, the country experienced nationwide civil war similar in scale to what Myanmar is facing today. In addition, for nearly eight decades, the country has endured smoldering and recurring armed conflicts.
Over the past many decades, fighting has flared across Shan, Karen, Mon, Kachin, Karenni (Kayah), Kokang, Ta’ang (Palaung), Pa-O, Rakhine, Chin, Naga, and Wa areas. It would not be wrong to say that civil war in Myanmar was born together with independence itself, having burned for nearly 80 years without being extinguished.
Among the causes of this civil war were the ideological struggles that emerged after World War II during the Cold War—the global rivalry between communism and capitalism; between those who sought to build the country under a communist socialist system and those who favored a nationalist capitalist system. Another key factor was not merely the ideological clash in name, but the failure to establish a genuine federal Union of Myanmar.
Ethnic nationalities have long struggled—through peaceful means and armed resistance alike—to build a true federal Union. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the ethnic and federal question has cast a shadow over Myanmar’s history for more than 70 years since independence.
On February 12, 1947—about ten months before independence—the Panglong Agreement was signed to ensure that the Frontier Areas and the Ministerial Burma would gain independence together as one entity. The agreement was signed by General Aung San, leader of the AFPFL, and political leaders from the Frontier Areas—Kachin, Chin, and Shan. When the British, who had colonized Myanmar, granted independence about two years after World War II, there had been consideration of granting separate independence to the Karenni, Shan, Kachin, Chin and other Frontier Areas, returning them to the status in which they had been colonized. However, after signing the Panglong Agreement, the signatories requested independence together as one unified country from the British colonial government.
However, during the Panglong Conference prior to independence, there was no thorough discussion or clearly defined agreement on how the future Union between the Frontier Areas and Ministerial Burma would be constructed. Because the agreement was reached hastily, some ethnic political leaders later criticized that after independence, disputes over building the Union led to armed struggle and decades of unresolved civil war.
The Panglong Conference and Agreement were signed only by representatives of the Kachin, Chin, Shan, and Burmese sides. Other ethnic groups—such as the Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Pa-O, and others—were not included.
A study of the Panglong Agreement shows that it largely reflected arrangements based on the specific historical context of the three Frontier Areas at that time. Critics later described it as a rapidly negotiated agreement intended to secure swift joint independence with the interim Burmese government.
It is true that the Panglong Agreement did not contain a comprehensive framework for the future Union. It can be reasonably concluded that its main purpose was to achieve independence together as one. Later politicians often invoked not only the Panglong Agreement itself, but more importantly the “Spirit of Panglong” as a rallying concept.
Fifteen years after the Panglong Agreement, in 1962, the military seized power. One immediate trigger was that the government led by U Nu had begun discussions at the Burma Broadcasting Service on the federal demands raised by ethnic groups.
From 1962 onward, the word “federal” was effectively banned until 2012. Terms such as ethnic rights, federalism, self-determination, and autonomy were censored throughout the BSPP era and later under the SLORC and SPDC regimes. During these periods, dozens of ethnic armed organizations waged defensive wars and wars of national liberation.
It would not be wrong to say that the root cause of the current civil war in Myanmar lies in the failure to establish a genuine federal Union after independence.
For over seven decades—nearly eight—Union Day was commemorated with ethnic costumes and ceremonies. During the BSPP era, even symbolic events such as carrying the Union flag from one town to another were staged to promote reverence for Union Day. Yet little effort was made to address the underlying causes of civil war.
After the 2021 military coup, the Spring Revolution emerged with the aim of dismantling military dictatorship through armed resistance. A central objective of this revolution is the establishment of a genuine federal democratic Union. It is crucial not only to speak about understanding ethnic issues, but to demonstrate that understanding through action. Merely proclaiming the “Spirit of the Union” is insufficient; only by genuinely practicing federal principles and resolving longstanding grievances can Myanmar eliminate and uproot the fundamental causes of its civil war.