On January 29th, the Three Brotherhood Alliance confirmed their ongoing encirclement and blockade of Muse Township in northern Shan State.
The Alliance's statement reads ,”we continued to encircle and block several towns in northern Shan State, including Muse, as well as some towns in Rakhine State on the 94th day of 'Operation 1027’ Their statement clarified that the ongoing siege of these towns is part of a strategy eventually leading to their complete capture.
As per the Haigeng Agreement mediated by China, a ceasefire between the Three Brotherhood Alliance and the Military Council took effect on January 11th.
However on January 19th, the Three Brotherhood Alliance declared that, should the Junta troops fail to adhere to the agreement and persist in provocative attacks, then the plan was ready to re-launch temporarily suspended operations, and seize a certain strategic township.
In their most recent statement, the term "certain strategic township" the Alliance explicitly identified it as Muse Township.
On January 8th, the Arakan Army (AA), a member organization of the Alliance, released photos demonstrating their provision of aid to war-displaced individuals in the vicinity of the 105-Mile hill trading post near Muse Township.
On November 27th, the Alliance initiated an offensive against the 105-Mile trading post. On December 16th, Major General Twan Mrat Naing, the Commander-in-Chief of the Arakan Army (AA), shared a photo on social media platform X with the caption "Greetings 105-Mile", depicting AA troops flying their flag alongside two armored combat vehicles seized from the coup Military Council.
Muse Township, boasted a total trade exceeding 4 billion dollars in the fiscal year 2020-21, solidifying its status as the largest trading hub along the China-Myanmar border.
However in the aftermath of the coup, the volume of border trade between the two countries has witnessed a significant decline, with the Military Council reporting that in the fiscal year 2022-23, the trade value plummeted to nearly $2.5 billion.
The fiscal year, previously set by the civilian government from October to September of the following year, was altered by the coup regime to span from April to the end of March in the subsequent year.
During the period from April to November in the fiscal year 2023-24, the trade volume in Muse Township surpassed already 1.6 billion dollars, as reported by the Military Council.
During that time-frame, Chinshwehaw town, another border outpost, recorded a trade volume exceeding $700 million. Presently, the town is under the complete control of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a member organization of the
Alliance. At the same time the nationwide value of border trade surpassed 5.7 billion dollars.
If it is broken down then the cumulative border trade volume of Chinshwehaw and Muse towns has surpassed 2.3 billion dollars, constituting over 40 percent of the total nationwide border trade value.
Photo caption: The photo posted by Major General Twan Mrat Naing on December 16th on social media with the caption "Greetings 105-Mile"
