Dredging of the Thanzit River in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan (Rakhine) State, a crucial route for Chinese oil tankers traveling to Maday Island Port, has been causing significant environmental damage, according to locals

The dredging, which started in early September 2024, is being carried out by the South-East Asia Crude Oil Pipeline Company Limited, a joint venture between the junta-affiliated Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and the Chinese state-owned South-East Asia Crude Oil Pipeline Company limited (CNPC-SEAP).

It follows a junta statement that said dredging to improve navigation for large tankers travelling up and down the Thanzit River to Maday Island, also in Arakan State, would be carried out from 15 July to 30 September.

Though the junta banned people from fishing or using the Thanzit River in Kyaukphyu Township from 7 August due to the dredging it did not start until early September.

A former Kyaukphyu MP said: "They are dredging the Thanzit River with ships and equipment starting from Maday Island. The dredging has been ongoing since early September, using modern machinery.”

The dredging process involves removing loose soil from coral reefs, which is then transported by Chinese ships at night and dumped into the sea, causing extensive harm to the natural environment, according to a local.

He said: "Loose soil from the river dredging is being dumped into the sea by ships, causing severe environmental damage that affects aquatic animals and the seabed.”

U Tun Kyi, a social activist from Kyaukphyu Township explained that the Thanzit River has already been dredged and negatively affected by tankers using the river. He warned that current dredging could further threaten the river's remaining fish species and aquatic resources.

He said: "They have dredged the river before, and with ongoing dredging, the remaining fish species and aquatic resources will suffer even greater damage.”

Despite the billions of dollars generated annually by China's major oil and natural gas projects in Kyaukphyu Township, local communities remain impoverished and have seen no tangible benefits, according to environmental activists.

The Chinese government, in partnership with the junta, wants to construct additional deep-sea ports and special economic zones in Arakan State.

Maday Island is 10 miles from Kyaukphyu Town and is the terminal for a Chinese oil pipeline that runs to Yunnan Province in China. A deep seawater port is also planned to be built there, as part of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone. There are four villages on Maday Island, they are: Ywama, Pyein, Kyaukmawgyi, and Kyauktan.

The Arakan Army (AA) has escalated its operations in Kyaukphyu Township and it already controls a large part of the township including extensive rural areas. It has encircled the junta troops stationed in Kyaukphyu Town and is fighting an ongoing offensive against them. There are many Chinese backed investment projects in Kyaukphyu Township.