By Zin Linn Oct 24, 2011 9:10PM UTC
The Chinese army secretly transported dozens of Burmese troops inside its border on October 21 morning to fight against the Kachin Independence Army, which is resisting an offensive by Burmese regiments, Kachin News Group reported.
Eyewitnesses said approximately 30 Chinese military trucks clandestinely transported Burma Army soldiers from the Chinese border trade city of Ruili (Shweli) to Jang Hkawng, another border town close to Loije on the Burmese side. Only two or three trucks in the military convoy were carrying Chinese troops and the rest carried Burmese soldiers, added local witnesses.
The aim of the maneuver seems to recapture two strategic positions which recently fell to the KIA at Jan Mai and Maw Shwi, near Loije, border-based military observers said. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) seized two important frontline posts from Burma Army in Kachin State on October 11, following more than 20 hours of fighting
At the same time over 2,000 Chinese troops have arrived on the Sino-Burma border, where KIA strongholds have been positioned since early this month. Eyewitnesses said Chinese soldiers take military exercises every afternoon from 4pm to 6pm in Jang Hkawng.
The Kachin Independence Army is opposing the huge 6,000 megawatt Myitsone Hydropower Project with armed resistance. The armed clashes have displaced tens of thousands of Kachin refugees, and ended a 17-year armistice agreement between the Burmese army and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and its military wing KIA.
Kachin State, which is situated in northern Burma (Myanmar), has been facing appalling environmental damage. Kachin State holds large areas of intact natural woodland, and is one of the most important biodiversity spots in the region. It has been under threat since the 1994 ceasefire when the KIO was allowed to keep its arms and gained some protective power while yielding control of natural resources to the then military regime. For that reason, many Kachin people believe the ceasefire agreement has been the cause of abject poverty and major environmental damage in their land.
As the Burmese junta has a bad reputation with its human rights records, it offers the natural resources of the country to China in order to gain shelter from the international criticism. As for KIO’s part, exploitation of the Kachin State’s natural resources by the Burmese and Chinese governments are unacceptable. All natural resources management decisions are approved by Burmese authorities without local consultation.
Now, the Burmese authorities seem inviting China’s pressure in its ethnic affairs, amid the agreement to build seven hydropower dams on the Irrawaddy River and its tributaries with the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI).
In October 2009, the Thailand-based Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) published a report – “Resisting the Flood” – highlighting the implementation of the Myitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy River.
The report demanded a halt to the project, saying it creates unwelcome impacts like social, environmental, livelihood, cultural and security problems for tens of thousands of people in the area.
The report states that more than 15,000 people in 60 villages around the dam sites are being forcibly relocated without proper resettlement plans. These individuals have lost their means of livelihood such as farming, fishing and collection of non-timber forest products.
However, China is selfishly pressuring the Burmese government to push ahead with the dam projects. Many people believe that the Burmese government has been escalating its military pressure on the KIO in order to protect China’s vested interest in Kachin State.
As a result, citizens think that China is pulling the strings in Burma’s politics in order to exploit not only natural resources but also to take advantage of regional politics.