The Arakan Army (AA) has taken control of the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline station in Ann Township, Rakhine State, this week, leaving Kyaukphyu as the only section of the pipeline in the state still outside its control.
Based on interviews with locals, the AA recently seized the pipeline control station in Ann’s Taung Zauk Village. The junta retains control of Kyaukphyu, where the pipeline originates, keeping management and profits from oil and gas exports to China under its authority.
The pipeline, which stretches some 500 miles through Myanmar, cuts through Rakhine State, Magway Region, Mandalay Region, and Shan State before reaching China’s Yunnan Province.
On December 20, the AA captured the junta’s Western Command in Ann, a military headquarters that oversees the junta’s military operations in the western part of the country.
A source close to the powerful ethnic armed group in Rakhine State confirmed to Myanmar Now that their forces control all of the pipeline’s stations in the state, adding that the junta can no longer take full responsibility for the pipeline.
Operating since 2013, the pipeline delivers natural gas to China every day, generating billions of dollars in foreign currency for the junta each year.
The pipeline is backed by investments from China’s state-owned CNPC, South Korea’s POSCO, Indian firms, and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned entity currently under Western sanctions.
Oil and gas exports to China, benefiting both the junta and Beijing, have continued uninterrupted despite ongoing conflict in Rakhine State, according to Kyaw Khaing, a researcher who collaborates with civil society groups monitoring oil and gas projects.
“The question is how AA will handle the interests of the public versus China’s interests,” Kyaw Khaing said. “There’s no way to avoid dealing with China. So we’ll have to wait and see how delicately they can manage this for the public’s benefit.”
He pointed out that during both Thein Sein’s and Aung San Suu Kyi’s governments, locals received no remedies for the environmental damage, loss of farmland, and the broader impacts on livelihoods the projects caused.
Moving forward, Kyaw Khaing hopes the AA will address these problems to improve the lives of those living near the pipeline. On December 29, after capturing their 14th town, the AA announced their willingness to engage in political dialogue. They emphasized their commitment to protecting foreign investments, including Chinese projects, that contribute to regional development in Rakhine State.
In recent weeks, clashes have continued between the AA and regime forces, drawing closer to the Chinese and foreign-owned development pipelines near the port town of Kyaukphyu.
