Residents in northern Shan State report China is pushing its border deeper into Myanmar territory, say they are powerless to resist the land grab as local armed groups are complicit in Beijing’s encroachment.
Starting last month, China has extended its border fencing several meters into Myanmar territory in areas controlled by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the United Wa State Army (UWSA). Locals in Chinshwehaw report that the MNDAA, also known as the Kokang Group, is cooperating with Chinese construction teams.
“The encroachment is most severe in Kokang,” a woman from MNDAA-controlled Chinshwehaw told The Irrawaddy. “The two sides are working together on [fence] construction, so it is clear they have an agreement. Ordinary people live in fear of the armed groups and dare not protest. Concern for personal safety means no one will speak out.”
Both the MNDAA and UWSA trace their origins to the 1989 mutiny that fractured the Communist Party of Burma. Most residents in MNDAA‑held areas are ethnic Chinese with roots in Yunnan, while the Wa are a Mon‑Khmer-speaking people more closely related to the Palaung.
The UWSA has upheld the ceasefire it signed with the military in 1989 and continues to prioritize stable relations with Beijing, the main backer of the current regime. The MNDAA, by contrast, fought the junta after the 2021 coup, expanding its territory before China pressured it to sign a ceasefire in 2025. The group is under fire for allowing an influx of Chinese businesses into its newly captured territory, where the yuan is increasingly being used for daily transactions.
Local media report that new border fencing has encroached near MNDAA-controlled Chinshwehaw and Kyukok-Pansai, as well as Namtit in UWSA territory. In Namtit, a stream that formerly marked the boundary has reportedly been absorbed into Chinese territory.
Neither the MNDAA nor the UWSA has issued a protest over the incursion.
UWSA liaison officer Nyi Rang has shared reports of the encroachment on social media but has yet to respond to The Irrawaddy’s inquiries.
“Everyone knows that ethnic armed groups in northern Shan are powerless to resist Chinese pressure,” another local in Chinshwehaw said.
Following the 1989 CPB mutiny, the MNDAA was confined to a small enclave east of the Salween River under an agreement with the then-military regime. Its resurgence following Operation 1027 in 2023 marked a dramatic shift: the group has now expanded beyond its Kokang borders and seized control of key China-Myanmar border trade arteries in northern Shan State.
Meanwhile, the UWSA and has enjoyed de facto control over Wa State for decades under its longstanding ceasefire with the Myanmar military.
Previously, villagers protested suspected encroachment by rallying at the border or petitioning the government and local armed groups. Today, the dominance of armed factions and the junta’s silence have made such resistance impossible. The new regime and its military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party have also remained mute, drawing criticism from observers who accuse them of trading Myanmar’s sovereignty for Beijing’s patronage.
China launched its massive Southern Great Wall fortification project in late 2020, under the pretext of pandemic control. By 2021, 600 kilometers of fencing had been erected in violation of the 1960 China-Myanmar Boundary Treaty and 1961 Protocol, which prohibit permanent construction within the 10‑meter buffer zone.
