China adds more weaponry to ongoing drills along Myanmar border

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – China's army on Monday deployed howitzers and counter-battery radars in its ongoing live-fire exercise on its side of the border with conflict-hit Myanmar.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched live-fire drills on Saturday on the Chinese side of the China-Myanmar border, which are "aimed at testing the mobility, border control abilities, and firepower capabilities of the military units so that the PLA is ready for any emergency," local English daily Global Times reported.

"The theater command forces are always prepared to respond to various emergencies and are resolute in safeguarding national sovereignty, border stability, and the safety of the people's lives and property," a spokesperson for the PLA Southern Theater Command said.

Since the latest outbreak of armed conflict in Myanmar, China has facilitated the evacuation of citizens of several countries from northern Myanmar through Chinese territory to avoid conflict.

The Myanmar military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, is losing control of several towns across the country as it battles a coordinated offensive launched by an alliance of three ethnic-minority groups and pro-democracy fighters last month.

Beijing has already barred its citizens from traveling to conflict-hit northern Myanmar.

The UN has said the fresh conflict in Myanmar’s northern Shan State has expanded to the country’s northwest and southeast regions, and Rakhine State since late October, leaving over 200,000 people displaced.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, and the Arakan Army armed groups have claimed control of numerous outposts and four towns, blocking critical trade routes to China.

Hundreds of people have fled the conflict and some have entered Indian territory in recent days.

Myanmar is currently ruled by a junta regime after the military overthrew a civilian government two years ago.

The UN expressed alarm at the severe fighting in Shan state, pointing to reports of artillery fire and air raids, causing civilian harm, displacement of tens of thousands, and hundreds fleeing across the border.