Junta seizes border trade vehicles to cut funding to armed groups

The junta has been aggressively targeting trucks entering Myanmar from the China–Myanmar border to prevent border trade tax revenue from flowing to armed groups affiliated with the Three Brotherhood Alliance.

The coup regime has been seizing trucks carrying Chinese-made goods crossing into Myanmar since August 2025, causing widespread hardship for border traders.

Goods imported from China are subject to duties when passing through the Kyansangkyawt border gate in Muse Township and the Chinshwehaw border gate in Laukkai Township, both in northern Shan State, which are controlled by the Three Brotherhood Alliance and its member, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). These goods previously went on to reach southern Shan State and Mandalay City in central Myanmar.

“Goods that pass through these border gates, which are controlled by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, are now only allowed to travel as far as Lashio in northern Shan State. The junta does not permit them to continue on to Mandalay or other regions. Once the trucks enter junta-controlled areas, the goods are treated as illegal and are confiscated by junta authorities,” said a trader from Muse.

In November last year, a junta checkpoint in Mongpawn Town, Loilem Township, Shan State, began seizing foreign goods originating from China.

In the first week of January this year, the junta’s Tactical Command Center 1, under the Northeastern Region Military Command and based in Thibaw (Hsipaw) Township, Shan State, seized 77 vehicles carrying Chinese goods and arrested 68 drivers.

The MNDAA reported on January 4 that around 200 trucks carrying sugarcane, maize, and other agricultural products were passing through the Chinshwehaw border gate under its control each day. On January 13, the junta convened a meeting with traders, urging them to cooperate in preventing tax revenue from flowing to armed groups and warning that any goods on which payments were not made to the junta would be confiscated.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance—which includes the MNDAA, the Arakan Army (AA), and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA)—launched ‘Operation 1027’ on October 27, 2023, delivering a significant blow to the junta.

The ambitious military initiative has caused setbacks unprecedented in Myanmar military history. Although a ceasefire brokered by the Chinese government has restored stability to northern Shan State, border traders reported that significant obstacles to the flow of goods remain.