Tensions between China and guerrilla groups operating inside its much smaller neighbor to the south, Myanmar, are on edge, given some of these groups have seized key border towns. Beijing has generally been supporting of the ruling junta which seized power going back to 2021, when it deposed the Myanmar government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar has been a nation in turmoil ever since.

Beijing actually maintains ties to different players within Myanmar’s political chaos, and now the region is could descend into more serious conflict following the Friday bombing of the Chinese Consulate in Myanmar’s second-largest city of Mandalay.

The explosion may have been relatively small, but damaged the roof of the two-story building. Security forces say they’re investigating and have condemned the “terrorists” behind the attack.

Associated Press has noted of the tense context: “The army is engaged in nationwide fighting against pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority militias.”

The army further was “forced onto the defensive late last year when ethnic armed organizations dealt it major defeats in the country’s northeast, seizing important territory along the border with China.”

In response, China has reportedly been forced to deploy troops to the restive Myanmar-China border after the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, has seized control of several border towns and camps.

One resident on the Myanmar side in an area taken over by the KIA said, “The Chinese haven’t opened the gate from yesterday until early today. Along the border, everyone is sleeping in tents and it’s very crowded.”

The rebel forces could come into direct clashes with the Chinese border troops…

Breaking!!! Myanmar Civil War: Kachin Independence Army has taken Pangwa town near the Chinese border.

Refugees are flooding to the border hoping to cross into China. Chinese border police has closed Tengchong’s Dian Tan border crossing 腾冲滇滩口岸.

Gunshots can be heard as… pic.twitter.com/T3bXVDfwz5

— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) October 19, 2024

The eyewitness said KIA forces had captured Chanyinku village, which is close to the key border town of Pang War. “Now, they’ve nearly arrived in Pang War. The junta is also shooting with heavy weapons.”

Border regions which have seen the most intense fighting of late happen to be known for the mining of rare earth minerals.

One regional report documents the financial importance of this restive region further:

Joint rebel forces have seized a key base for Myanmar’s pro-junta Border Guard Force in Kachin state, and residents say rebels will soon occupy a nearby town that serves as a hub for Chinese rare-earth mining and cross-border trade.

Rebel control of these mines could potentially disrupt shipments of these lucrative rare earths, which are used in cell phones, cars and other products, and could cut off an important source of revenue for the junta, which has struggled financially amid global sanctions over its Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat.

#Myanmar 🇲🇲: heavy fighting is ongoing in the border town of Pang War in #Kachin state as the #KIA is trying to capture this pocket held by a junta border guard force known as the NDA-K.

Pang War is a major hub of rare earth mineral mines. pic.twitter.com/FOZQnR0mmv

— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) October 18, 2024

The junta has long had martial law in effect, especially after in 2021 soon after it took power a spate of arson attacks targeted Chinese-owned factories, particularly in the garment production hub of Yangon. Dozens of Chinese-owned businesses had been reported either vandalized or torched amid growing anti-China sentiment among the protesters.