Myanmar Military Expands Control Over Rare Earth & Border Regions

Myanmar’s military has launched renewed offensives into several border regions, including areas rich in heavy rare-earth elements and key trade routes, a month after the new administration took formal control of the war-torn country.

Newly appointed military chief Ye Win Oo is making an aggressive push to reclaim strategic border strongholds from ethnic armies that have gained strength in recent years. The offensives have focused on Kachin State, rich in rare-earth elements and abutting China, and Chin State, which borders India and a key trade corridor in Karen State.

At a meeting last week, Ye Win Oo told soldiers the military had secured Falam town in Chin State and an arterial route between Mandalay and Myitkyina in Kachin State. The strategic rationale is to regain control over primary communication and trade routes in Myanmar, according to analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe.

The offensives come after former junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing last month asked rebel groups opposed to the military to enter into peace talks within 100 days – a proposal rejected by many ethnic armies. The conflict began in 2021 when the military staged a coup, ousting the democratically elected civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.