The Chinese authorities are continuing to block goods going from China through Myanmar border posts now completely controlled by Three Brotherhood Alliance members, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
The Three Brotherhood Alliance completely controls four towns with border crossings to China in northern Shan State.
The MNDAA controls Pang Hseng (Pan Saing), Chinshwehaw, and Monekoe. The TNLA controls Namhkam.
The MNDAA also has joint control with the junta of the Kyansangkyawt border trading post in Muse Town.
In the third week of November, China reopened these border crossings, but only to allow the export of sugarcane and corn to China. The export of any goods from China to Myanmar through these border crossings is still prohibited by the Chinese authorities.
A trader from Pang Hseng Town said to Shan Herald: “The Pang Hseng and Kyansangkyawt border trading posts have reopened for the export of sugarcane and corn. However, no imports have been allowed into Myanmar as of yet. Approximately 50 trucks loaded with corn cross into China daily, though the exact number of trucks carrying sugarcane is unknown. People with valid corn export permits are allowed to continue, while those with expired permits are no longer permitted to export.”
Another trader from Muse Town said that each truck loaded with corn entering China from the Kyansangkyawt trading post in Muse Township needs to pay 2,500 RMB (approximately 1.5 million MMK) to the Three Brotherhood Alliance for tolls and other expenses.
He said: “The Three Brotherhood Alliance collects a tax of 2,500 RMB for each corn-loaded truck passing through the Kyansangkyawt trading post. China has set a target of importing 100,000 tons of corn through Kyansangkyawt, and once that amount is reached, the gate will be closed. At that point, the Monekoe trading post will handle corn imports. When the target at Monekoe is met, exports will resume through Kyansangkyawt. This process will continue in a rotating manner.”
Each truck transports about three tons of corn so it will take 30 to 35 trucks to reach the targets of 100,000 tons which will net the Brotherhood Alliance between about 75,000 and 87,500 RMB (about $10,277 USD to $11,990 USD)
Importers and exporters have suggested that the border crossings controlled by the Three Brotherhood Alliance members were opened for corn and sugar cane exports to China following talks between the and the Three Brotherhood Alliance and the Chinese authorities in Yunnan Province, which shares a border with Myanmar.
Locals in the border areas claim that China’s continuing border blockade on goods coming from China through border crossings controlled by the Three Brotherhood Alliance shows that China supports the junta rather than the revolution.
A woman from Muse Township said to Shan Herald: “This is an unfair situation and can be seen as a form of oppression against locals in the border areas. Currently, no imported goods are coming in. If the blockade continues much longer, there will be a food shortage. Goods can be imported through China’s Jiegao border post [opposite Muse Town], but only in small quantities, and they must be transported on motorbikes. Importing goods by car is not allowed. If the border trading posts remain closed for an extended period, it is the livelihoods of the local people that will suffer the most.”
According to a 21 November 2024 statement by the junta, the authorities of Yunnan Province assured the junta’s Immigration Minister, U Win Kyaing, that China would keep all border crossings to areas controlled by ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) closed and they would only reopen them at a time agreed to by both countries after discussions.
Junta-controlled newspapers also reported that when the coup leader Min Aung Hlaing met the Chinese Premier in China on 6 November, the premier said that he would work to support the junta’s efforts to gain control over all the border crossings with China.
