invaded Kengtung thrice; the invasions were repulsed with Burmese and Shan military assistance.

On 27 May 1942, during World War II, Kengtung State was invaded and its capital captured by the Thai Phayap Army. Following a previous agreement between Thai Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram and the Japanese Empire, in December the same year the Thai administration occupied Kengtung