“Since December last year, along Shan State’s border, residents have described the same slow transformation: fences rising deeper into Myanmar territory, fields cut in half, streams reclassified overnight as ‘on the Chinese side,’ and ancestral land silently absorbed.”
“The construction has been ongoing for months. Local civil society organizations (CSOs) and villagers say China is building new border fencing from Ruili city in Yunnan Province, across the river from Muse, to Mangshi in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture.”
“Villagers say the new fencing extends at least 15 meters—and in some places over 100 meters—into Myanmar. Old boundary markers, footpaths and natural water lines have disappeared behind steel and concrete. Yet there has been no official protest, no investigation and no public response from the military authorities in Naypyitaw.”
“The China-Myanmar border stretches over 2,000 km and is governed by bilateral agreements, including the 1997 border management and cooperation framework. Despite these mechanisms, repeated unilateral fencing projects have occurred over the years.”
“China began erecting fences in Kachin State and Shan State in October 2020, officially citing COVID-19 prevention as the rationale. In 2020, Myanmar’s border authorities stated that China had infringed on the officially demarcated border in at least eight locations in Shan State.”