The Shwe gas pipeline connecting Burma’s Arakan coast to Kunming in China began operating at full capacity, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) announced on Sunday, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. The pipeline is expected to send 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Maday Island in Arakan State to Kunming in Yunnan. The controversial pipeline spans about 800 kms of Burmese territory, and its construction displaced residents from 21 townships since work began in 2010. Frequent protests by those affected by the laying of the pipeline have taken place over the last three years. Testing on the pipeline began in late July.