Recently, the mainland's southern theater publicly announced that it would dispatch the PLA army and air force to conduct live-fire exercises on our side of the mainland's China-Myanmar border. The exercises began on the 17th of this month, and the end time was not indicated.
【PLA exercises on the China-Myanmar border】
Everyone should remember that earlier this month, the Southern Theater held a similar exercise on the Sino-Burmese border, and there was only a short interval of 14 days between this military exercise, and it is rare for such a high-frequency exercise to be conducted in the same area.
The current situation in Myanmar is extremely chaotic, and although the "Three Brothers Alliance" still disputes with the Burmese military junta on some issues, the "Three Brothers Alliance" agreed to a temporary ceasefire and maintained a brief peace with the Burmese military junta under the coordination of China. However, there is not only one rebel force in Myanmar, and other civilian forces have not stopped, among which the most troublesome for the Burmese military government is undoubtedly the Karen Army and the Kachin Army.
Although these two forces have similar names, their spheres of activity are completely opposite. Among them, the Karen army is mainly active in the Myawaddy region of southern Myanmar on the border with Thailand, and it is worth mentioning that this is also the hardest hit area of wire fraud in northern Myanmar, and just last week, the Myanmar military junta withdrew from Myawaddy under the fierce offensive of the Karen army, losing control of the place.
【Loss of Myawaddy】
And the Kachin army's offensive was more fierce than the Karen coalition army. Since the beginning of March this year, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has been on the offensive to capture nearly 20 important strongholds of the Burmese army, many of which have been under the control of the Burmese army for a long time. Recently, the Kachin army has also joined forces with the Shan State people and local forces to control six Burmese border trade ports in one fell swoop, including Leki, Mujie, Qingshuihe, etc., among which the Leki port, which was occupied by the Kachin army, is one of the five major ports of the same as China and Myanmar, and the bilateral trade volume between China and Myanmar through this port reached about $140 million last year.
It is worth mentioning that the Kachin Independence Army is one of the known pro-American forces, which originated from the 101 commando group established by the United States during World War II. At the same time, it is one of the few groups of Burmese rebels that are allowed to visit the United States and receive interviews with American officials. In 2014, when the Burmese government negotiated a nationwide ceasefire with rebels, only the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) publicly called for the United States to intervene in the cease-fire agreement, which undoubtedly demonstrated its close relationship with the United States.
The Taipingjiang Power Station and Myitsone Power Station built by Chinese companies in Myanmar have been deliberately attacked and harassed by the army, and even many employees of Chinese companies have been kidnapped by the other side, and most importantly, the Kachin Army has also tried to incite ethnic minorities such as the Jingpo ethnic group on the mainland to fight for "independence" in the name of the so-called "same ethnic group". Allowing such a pro-US armed force to continue to grow in strength on the Sino-Burmese border is obviously not a good thing for the security of the mainland border.
[There are major security risks on the China-Myanmar border]
In addition, the conflict between the Burmese and Kachin forces in the region has given other forces an opportunity to exploit. For example, a few days ago, the northern Shan State, located near the border with China and Myanmar, was bombed during the Songkran Festival, but fortunately, the local armed groups had prepared in advance, so the explosion did not cause casualties, but the explosion is enough to show that there is a huge security risk on the border between China and Myanmar.
It should be added that the United States is also preparing to meddle in Myanmar's affairs. A few days ago, advisers to the US State Department approached the Burmese pro-democracy faction, and the two sides issued a statement after the closed-door talks, saying that the United States affirmed the activities of the pro-democracy faction and would support the latter's "local governance construction."
Against this backdrop, the purpose of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in holding two military exercises in less than half a month is very clear, that is, to warn the Kachin army not to get carried away and hit the Chinese side with their ideas. At the same time, it is also a warning to the United States behind it not to try to affect China's security and interests by manipulating the situation on the China-Myanmar border.
[Senior U.S. official meets with representatives of Burmese pro-democracy faction]
In addition, it should be noted that the focus of the PLA's military exercise is on "air defense," and the "air defense" mentioned here refers to the general term for the defense and management activities of the airspace, including regional air defense and emergency handling, and the whole process is carried out with live ammunition and has a stronger actual combat nature.
Inside Myanmar, only the Burmese military junta has an air force, after the Burmese military junta launched airstrikes against the Kachin Independence Army, destroying several houses and factories. Now that the Kachin army is on the offensive, it cannot be ruled out that the Burmese government army will use the air force to frantically "counterattack" it in the future.
You must know that Kachin State borders Yunnan and Tibet on the mainland, and the Burmese fighter planes are very bold and bold in carrying out their tasks, which means that there may be stray bullets falling on the mainland border at that time, not to mention the fact that the Burmese Air Force has illegally crossed the border to strike. For example, in January last year, the Burmese Air Force crossed the border without authorization and launched an airstrike on civilian military positions in India, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 20.
Under such circumstances, the PLA has made air defense the focus of its exercises, not only to warn certain forces that are ready to move, but also to remind the Burmese military not to be carried away and send planes across the border to strike and harm the people on the Chinese border.