The attack caught the Burmese military junta off guard, as the intelligence apparatus failed to alert the military command in Naypyitaw with advance intelligence about the launch of the attacks.
The Brotherhood Alliance’s control of areas such as Kutkai, Muse, Lashio, Namkham, Nawnghkio and Chin Shwe Haw in northern Shan state and the ruby ​​mining region of Mogoke in the upper Mandalay region will help the rebels generate huge revenues, which will not only increase their own power but also will also support their own forces. strategic dominance but also firepower. The rebel operation also blocked lucrative trade routes between China and Myanmar, such as the Lashio-Muse Highway and Lashio-Chin Shwe Haw Road, to prevent the regime from using them for reinforcements. All trade routes with China, including the busiest border crossing at Muse, are reportedly now under the control of the Brotherhood Alliance and are closed due to ongoing conflict. Chin Shwe Haw, a trading town on the Chinese border, also fell to the rebels.
Myanmar shares a 2,129 kilometer long border with China. Over the past thirty-five years, Myanmar has developed a particularly strong business relationship with China. According to Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce, from April 2022 to mid-January 2023, bilateral trade between the two countries reached $159,412 million, with the bulk of it carried out overland through well-managed border checkpoints.
news source (www.nationalheraldindia.com)
