(Translated staff article from the MYANMAR NOW MEDIA on 18 October 2024.)
PLA shutdown Panwar Gate. |
China has declared to completely shut down the
border between the Kachin State and China due to KIA’s refusal to obey China’s
order to stop the hostile actions against seriously weakened Myanmar Army. The
border closure begins today on October-18.
On October-17, China’s Special Envoy for Asian
Affairs Deng Xijun and his team of Chinese diplomats had an emergency meeting
with KIO/KIA Chairman General Gam Shaung at Yin Kyang City in Yunan Province. Deng
Xijun basically ordered KIA to stop capturing Kachin towns immediately,
otherwise, KIA would face dire consequences from China’s stern actions for disobedience
like the MNDAA the Kokang Army is now facing.
Apparently, KIA completely ignored China’s orders and went ahead with its plan to capture the crucial town of Pan-war and then Kan-pike-tee Pass. And Chian immediately blockaded Kachin-China Broder and sent in a PLA division to stop the Kachin people crossing the border.
China was understandably upset, for Pan-war Township is famous for its abundance of Rare-Earth mineral resources and many Chinese companies and Chinese nationals have been exploring and mining the Rare-Earth minerals for their rapidly expanding EV automobile industry.
On the China-Burma Border there are five border trading gates namely, Mu-se, Chin-shwe-haw, Maing-lar, Lwel-gel, and Kan-pike-tee. Only Mu-se is still controlled by the Myanmar Army while the rest are controlled by the Ethnic Armed Forces like KIA the Kachin Army, MNDAA the Kokang Army, and TNLA the Palaung Army.
Only Mu-se Gate is not shut down by China’s PLA and
the constant flow of cargo and people are still going on under Chinese eyes.
Because of China’s border-blockades every commodity coming from China is scarce
and prices are rising rapidly in the whole Myanmar.