Myanmar’s military has stepped up operations across multiple border regions, including areas rich in rare earth deposits and key trade routes, just a month after a new administration officially took office in the conflict-ridden country.
New military chief Ye Win Oo, who assumed office in March after his longtime predecessor stepped down to become president, is leading an intensified push to retake strategic frontier positions from ethnic armed groups that have grown stronger in recent years, according to rebel spokespeople and analysts who spoke to Reuters.
The latest operations are concentrated in Kachin State, home to heavy rare earth resources along the border with China, as well as Chin State on the Indian frontier and parts of Karen State, a vital trade route adjacent to Thailand.
At a meeting last week, Ye Win Oo said troops had secured Falam town in Chin State and a key supply route linking Mandalay and Myitkyina in Kachin State, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar.
“The military’s strategic rationale is that they need to regain control over the primary communication and trade routes in Myanmar,” said Myanmar analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe.
