Continual Contestations at the China-Myanmar Border

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 8 looks at the ongoing ethnic conflicts along the Sino-Myanmar borderland area, and explores ways in which these conflicts continue to implicate Myanmar’s state and nation-building processes. It examines three prominent ethnic rebel groups. The first is the Kachin Independence Army, with which the Myanmar national army has ongoing military clashes. The second is the Kokang rebel group, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which the Myanmar central military successfully defeated twice, in 2009 and 2015. The third is the United Wa State Army, which despite a 2011 break in the ceasefire between it and the Myanmar central government, has so far not faced direct military pressure and continues to maintain a high level of political and cultural autonomy. Altogether, the chapter offers a more up-to-date analysis of the challenges facing Myanmar’s state and nation-building processes and the implications for bilateral relations with China and Thailand.