Myanmar military steps up rare‑earth and border offensives under new chief

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A soldier from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) carries an RPG launcher at a Myanmar military base at Thingyan Nyi Naung village on the outskirts of Myawaddy, the Thailand-Myanmar border town under the control of a coalition of rebel forces led by the Karen National Union, in Myanmar, April 15, 2024. — Reuters pic

NYAPYIDAW, May 25 — ‌Myanmar’s military has launched renewed offensives into several border regions, including a frontier area with critical rare earth deposits and other vital trade routes, a month after a new administration took formal control of the war-torn country. New military chief Ye Win Oo, who took office in March after his long-time predecessor stepped down to become president, is making an ‌aggressive push to reclaim strategic border strongholds from ethnic armies that have gained strength in recent years, spokesmen for rebel groups and analysts told Reuters.

The military’s recent offensives have focused on Kachin State, a region rich in heavy rare-earth elements that abuts China, as well as Chin State on the Indian border and a key trade corridor in Karen State, next to Thailand.

At a meeting last week, Ye Win Oo told soldiers that the military had secured Falam town in Chin State and an arterial route between Mandalay and Myitkyina in Kachin State, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

“The military’s strategic rationale is that they need to regain control over the primary communication and trade routes in Myanmar,” said Myanmar analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe.

“We can see that the military is trying desperately to recapture towns that host border trade gates.”

An official from Myanmar’s presidential office, reached via phone, declined to comment.

Reuters could not independently verify the details of military offensives and their early successes across parts of Myanmar, where media access remains restricted. The ‌offensives come after former junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing last month asked rebel groups opposed to the military to enter into peace talks within 100 ⁠days — a proposal that many ethnic armies immediately rejected. Myanmar’s ongoing conflict was sparked ⁠in 2021, when the military staged a coup that ousted the democratically elected civilian government led by Nobel ⁠laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The takeover triggered a ⁠nationwide uprising that escalated into an ⁠armed resistance, with multiple ethnic armies and rebel groups pushing the military out of several regions.

Border gateways 

The military is seeking to drive deeper into northern Kachin State, with an eye to retake mining belts along the Chinese border that produce roughly half of the world’s heavy rare earths, which are essential for wind ⁠turbines and electric vehicles. Naw Bu, spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army that took control of the area in October 2024, said the armed group has prepared their defences, particularly around the Chipwi and Pangwa township areas.

“We will welcome them with the barrels of our guns,” he said. Simultaneously, the military has launched an intensified offensive on the western front in Chin State, bordering India, which could disrupt a key cross-border logistics route that supports opposition groups inside Myanmar.

Resistance fighters have undertaken strategic retreats from Falam and Tonzong towns in the state, as the military uses heavy aerial bombings to recover lost territory, said Salai ⁠Van, a spokesperson for the Chin National Front. Illicit Iranian deliveries of jet fuel have previously powered an expansive bombing campaign by the Myanmar military, which struck more than 1,000 civilian locations in a 15-month period, Reuters has reported. The war machine does not yet appear ⁠to have been slowed down by fuel shortages triggered by the conflict in Iran, although the country’s farmers and other civilians have been hard hit by the global ⁠energy crisis. The military ⁠has also launched an offensive to control the Myawaddy-Kawkareik highway near Thailand, a key trade route around which fighting has raged on since the Karen National Union ethnic army pushed into the border town of Myawaddy in 2024.

The KNU is among those that Min Aung Hlaing specifically mentioned as part of his attempt to bring opposition groups to the ‌table by July 31.

“The military has repeatedly and continuously violated pledges along the path to peace and paid no heed to agreements,” said Saw Taw Nee, a spokesperson for the KNU.

“Therefore, it goes without saying that there is a complete absence of trust. Whatever they attempt, it is bound to fail.” — Reuters