Ta’ang armed group unveils trade point on Shan State’s border with China

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) recently reopened a trading gate on Namkham Township’s border with China as several other crossings remain contested or closed, local business people said. The ethnic armed organisation’s customs department unveiled the post on April 29, located two miles south of Namkham town and near the village of Nawng Tawng on the western bank of the Shweli River. However, neither the TNLA nor China have released an official statement acknowledging the operations of the trading site. Although the gate is not expected to serve as a major commercial centre, the TNLA is allowing the export of local goods, such as corn, charcoal, and timber, as well as minerals, including silicon extracted from Namkham and metals from the famous Bawdwin mine in neighbouring Namtu; the TNLA claimed control over both townships late last year, seizing seven towns in total along the Chinese border. The capture of the territory was part of Operation 1027, a major offensive launched by the Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armed groups—the TNLA, the Kokang Myanmar Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Arakan Army—intended to drive the military out of northern Shan State. While a charcoal trader told Myanmar Now that there were no known restrictions on what could be imported from Yunnan Province through Nawng Tawng, only cement and bricks were currently being sent into Shan State. The charcoal trader said when border crossings operated by Myanmar’s junta closed in the aftermath of Operation 1027, the prices for his goods dropped without access to Chinese markets. “Now, with the reopening of the border trade gate in Nawng Tawng, charcoal can be sold again, and its price has surged," he remarked. A boating dock on the Shweli River near the Nawng Tawng border gate, pictured on May 4 (Myat Pan / Myanmar Now) While several armed groups are active in northern Shan State, the TNLA controls the route between Namhsan, Namtu, Manton, and Namkham, which leads to the Nawng Tawng border gate. “We only have to pay tax once at this gate, making it more convenient compared to other gates [where we have to pay multiple groups],” the charcoal trader explained. In addition to the military and the Brotherhood Alliance members, the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) also operate in the region, collect “taxes,” and administer territory. In early April more than 100 SSPP/SSA troops entered the area near the Nawng Tawng border gate, and tensions escalated surrounding the question of which group had the authority to collect taxes. The TNLA responded by closing the gate on April 5. The SSPP/SSA has increased its presence particularly near the boating docks along the Shweli River near Nawng Tawng, and has remained in the area. It was not known at the time of reporting what arrangement the groups had reached regarding the collection of official fees. Traders told Myanmar Now that while the TNLA holds the town of Kutkai, the MNDAA also has a presence there. The KIA is the primary tax collector near that township’s Namphetka village tract, which is situated en route to the major 105-Mile Trade Zone outside Muse on the Chinese border, controlled by the Brotherhood Alliance.

Ta’ang armed group unveils trade point on Shan State’s border with China

Metals, silicon, and timber are among the resources from northern Shan State being exported to China through a gate reopened by the ethnic armed organisation in Namkham Township

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