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The Star
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Myanmar junta battles guerillas for control of jade hub
Jade is considered auspicious in Chinese culture and high-quality stones can fetch astronomical sums. - Reuters YANGON: Myanmar's junta and anti-coup guerillas battled over the country's jade mining hub Friday (June 20), a combatant and a local said, displacing desperate civilians as they vied for supplies of the precious stone. Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since a 2021 coup toppled the democratic government, with the myriad of fighting factions plundering the nation's vast natural resources to fill their coffers. Jade is considered auspicious in Chinese culture and high-quality stones can fetch astronomical sums. Fighting has raged during a Myanmar military offensive around villages and mining sites in Hpakant township of northern Kachin state, according to Naw Bu, spokesman of the Kachin Independence Army battling the junta in the area. "They came to the jade mining areas of some companies and they burned down trucks and destroyed other things," he added. "They intended to stop our income from jade mining." AFP was not able to verify the claim and a spokesman for Myanmar's junta could not be reached for comment. Battles in the area began around three weeks ago but continued in the early hours of Friday, Naw Bu said. A local resident who asked to remain anonymous said around 15 civilians had been killed since May 28 and "some residents didn't dare to stay in the combat zone and have been displaced". As Myanmar's civil war enters its fifth year, more than 3.5 million people in the country of around 50 million are currently displaced, according to United Nations figures. Kachin state hosts the largest jade deposits in the world according to geologists. Myanmar also has a huge and loosely-regulated mining sector for gold, rubies and rare earth minerals which has flourished in the war. China is also a key market for rare earth minerals, where they are used in electric vehicles the country is producing at prodigious rates. - AFP
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Myanmar junta battles guerillas for control of jade hub
Myanmar also has a huge and loosely-regulated mining sector for gold, rubies and rare earth minerals. PHOTO: AFP YANGON - Myanmar's junta and anti-coup guerillas battled over the country's jade mining hub on June 20, a combatant and a local said, displacing desperate civilians as they vied for supplies of the precious stone. Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since a 2021 coup toppled the democratic government, with the myriad of fighting factions plundering the nation's vast natural resources to fill their coffers. Jade is considered auspicious in Chinese culture and high-quality stones can fetch astronomical sums in the neighbouring country. Fighting has raged during a Myanmar military offensive around villages and mining sites in Hpakant township of northern Kachin state, according to Mr Naw Bu, spokesman of the Kachin Independence Army battling the junta in the area. 'They came to the jade mining areas of some companies and they burned down trucks and destroyed other things,' he added. 'They intended to stop our income from jade mining.' AFP was not able to verify the claim and a spokesman for Myanmar's junta could not be reached for comment. Battles in the area began around three weeks ago but continued in the early hours of June 20, Mr Naw Bu said. A local resident who asked to remain anonymous said around 15 civilians had been killed since May 28 and 'some residents didn't dare to stay in the combat zone and have been displaced'. As Myanmar's civil war enters its fifth year, more than 3.5 million people in the South-east Asian country of around 50 million are currently displaced, according to United Nations figures. Kachin state hosts the largest jade deposits in the world according to geologists. Myanmar also has a huge and loosely-regulated mining sector for gold, rubies and rare earth minerals which has flourished in the war. China is also a key market for rare earth minerals, where they are used in electric vehicles the country is producing at prodigious rates. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Myanmar junta battles guerillas for control of jade hub
AI- Generated Image YANGON: Myanmar's junta and anti-coup guerillas battled over the country's jade mining hub Friday, a combatant and a local said, displacing desperate civilians as they vied for supplies of the precious stone. Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since a 2021 coup toppled the democratic government, with the myriad of fighting factions plundering the nation's vast natural resources to fill their coffers. Jade is considered auspicious in Chinese culture and high-quality stones can fetch astronomical sums in the neighbouring country. Fighting has raged during a Myanmar military offensive around villages and mining sites in Hpakant township of northern Kachin state, according to Naw Bu, spokesman of the Kachin Independence Army battling the junta in the area. "They came to the jade mining areas of some companies and they burned down trucks and destroyed other things," he added. "They intended to stop our income from jade mining." AFP was not able to verify the claim and a spokesman for Myanmar's junta could not be reached for comment. Battles in the area began around three weeks ago but continued in the early hours of Friday, Naw Bu said. A local resident who asked to remain anonymous said around 15 civilians had been killed since May 28 and "some residents didn't dare to stay in the combat zone and have been displaced". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo As Myanmar's civil war enters its fifth year, more than 3.5 million people in the Southeast Asian country of around 50 million are currently displaced, according to United Nations figures. Kachin state hosts the largest jade deposits in the world according to geologists. Myanmar also has a huge and loosely-regulated mining sector for gold, rubies and rare earth minerals which has flourished in the war. China is also a key market for rare earth minerals, where they are used in electric vehicles the country is producing at prodigious rates.
New Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Myanmar's junta battles guerillas for control of key jade mining hub
YANGON: Myanmar's junta and anti-coup guerillas battled over the country's jade mining hub Friday, a combatant and a local said, displacing desperate civilians as they vied for supplies of the precious stone. Myanmar has been consumed by a many-sided civil war since a 2021 coup toppled the democratic government, with the myriad of fighting factions plundering the nation's vast natural resources to fill their coffers. Jade is considered auspicious in Chinese culture and high-quality stones can fetch astronomical sums in the neighbouring country. Fighting has raged during a Myanmar military offensive around villages and mining sites in Hpakant township of northern Kachin state, according to Naw Bu, spokesman of the Kachin Independence Army battling the junta in the area. "They came to the jade mining areas of some companies and they burned down trucks and destroyed other things," he added. "They intended to stop our income from jade mining." AFP was not able to verify the claim and a spokesman for Myanmar's junta could not be reached for comment. Battles in the area began around three weeks ago but continued in the early hours of Friday, Naw Bu said. A local resident who asked to remain anonymous said around 15 civilians had been killed since May 28 and "some residents didn't dare to stay in the combat zone and have been displaced." As Myanmar's civil war enters its fifth year, more than 3.5 million people in the Southeast Asian country of around 50 million are currently displaced, according to United Nations figures. Kachin state hosts the largest jade deposits in the world according to geologists. Myanmar also has a huge and loosely-regulated mining sector for gold, rubies and rare earth minerals which has flourished in the war. China is also a key market for rare earth minerals, where they are used in electric vehicles the country is producing at prodigious rates.
NDTV
05-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
"China's Strategic Encirclement...": Ex MoS External Affairs Writes To PM On Northeast Security
New Delhi: Former Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the need for a draft policy framework on internal security in the northeast region, considering the situation in Myanmar and Bangladesh and China's "deliberate geopolitical strategy to expand its influence and reduce India's strategic depth in the region." In the letter, the former Union minister said the northeast region is seeing a renewed wave of security challenges triggered by instability in India's neighbourhood, particularly Myanmar and Bangladesh. "After the Pahalgam terrorist attack and India's response to it, China is trying to increase its strategic partnership with Bangladesh and Myanmar. We need to analyse how these external dynamics are impacting our internal security," Mr Singh said. He highlighted three concerns linked to the northeast region - ethnic armed groups along India-Myanmar border, radical Islamist resurgence in Bangladesh, and China's strategic encirclement as a geopolitical strategy. Myanmar Mr Singh said the Myanmar military coup in 2021 encouraged ethnic armed groups such as the Arakan Army and Kachin Independence Army to intensify their struggle for independence, affecting India's border states like Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland. "Over 68,600 Myanmar nationals, mostly Chin-Kuki-Zomi people from Sagaing region and Chin State, have fled into Manipur and Mizoram, straining local resources and complicating inter-ethnic relations and also culminating a war-like situation in Manipur," the former Minister of State for External Affairs said in the letter. "Taking advantage of Myanmar's fragility, some Indian insurgents' groups operating from Myanmar are also trying to destabilise northeast India. Myanmar's weak governance and its limited military reach along the India-Myanmar border increases cross border rebel activities, arms running, drug dealings, and human trafficking, resulting in further jeopardization of the region," Mr Singh, who represented Inner Manipur constituency in the Lok Sabha in the last term, said. Bangladesh Drawing attention to the situation in Bangladesh, Mr Singh said the rise of the groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami and remnants of HuJi-B (Harkat-ul-Islami Bangladesh) has made the situation "hydra-headed". "There have been past instances of militants and rebels crossing into India from Bangladesh. States like Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura remain vulnerable... During his recent visit to China, Bangladesh's interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus made statements regarding India's northeast region which had propagated diplomatic concern. "... Yunus emphasised the potential for Bangladesh to facilitate China's access to the Indian Ocean, highlighting the strategic importance of the region. The statement has been perceived as an invitation for China to extend its influence into India's northeastern states via Bangladesh," Mr Singh said in the letter to PM Modi. China Explaining what he called "China's strategic encirclement", the former MoS for External Affairs said this is seen through military, economic, and diplomatic manoeuvres in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. "For China, it is part of a border String of Pearls strategy - creating a network of assets (ports, roads, bases, and allies) around India... Chinese influence in and around the northeast region should be countered properly in all respects," Mr Singh said. Considering all these factors, he said, India needs to create a draft policy framework on internal security in the northeast. "... Current ethnic conflict particularly between the Meiteis and the illegal intruders of Chin-Kuki tribes from Sagaing and Chin Hills of Myanmar should also be looked into seriously. An aggressive diplomatic channel needs to be opened for Myanmar based on mutual reciprocity," Mr Singh said in the letter to PM Modi. He suggested four points for consideration: deport undocumented immigrants and recheck identity documents of all bonafide citizens; all law enforcement agencies should be used while carrying out this massive exercise; maintain an authentic databank of Indian citizens in the region, and bring all insurgent groups to the negotiating table for dialogue.
