The Karen National Union (KNU) and other ethnic Karen armed groups met in late September to discuss reopening the Asian Highway to Thailand, which has been closed for nearly a year.
Karen State Border Guard Force (BGF) leader Colonel Saw Chit Thu, Major General Shwe Wa from the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and Major Saw Kyaw Kyaw from the Karen National Liberation Army – Peace Council (PC) attended the meeting with the KNU in Hpa-an District.
The Asian Highway links the border town of Myawaddy in Karen State with Tamu in Sagaing Region on the Indian border.
The hourlong stretch from Kawkareik to Myawaddy in Karen State has been closed since the KNU and its allies attacked Kawkareik in December last year.
The regime is reportedly pressuring its allies – the BGF, DKBA and PC – to reopen the Asian Highway and the Thai authorities are urging the KNU to do the same.
The DKBA and PC are signatories to the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and have engaged in talks with the regime since the 2021 coup.
KNU Brigade 6, which attended the September meeting, refused to reopen the highway because the junta could use it to advance on Myawaddy, according to a source. “Saw Chit Thu called for the road to be reopened but the KNU commanders refused,” he said.
KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee told The Irrawaddy: “It is impossible to reopen the road now. That’s all I can say.”
The other groups have made no comment.
Fighting was reported on the highway in late September with remaining troops from the junta’s Operation Aung Zeya, according to resistance groups.
Troops from the operation are still attempting to advance on Myawaddy from Kawkareik.
A bus driver told The Irrawaddy about his experience of the fighting in late September: “Shells landed near vehicles on the old road. Then we saw aircraft so we stopped and hid.”
Civilians are keen for the highway to reopen from Myawaddy to Kawkareik to avoid the high tolls on the old roads charged by Karen armed groups.
A Yangon to Myawaddy bus driver said: “I stopped driving because of the tolls but I can’t make money in Yangon because of the fuel shortages. I am waiting for the Asian Highway to reopen.”
There are at least 40 checkpoints manned by armed groups on two alternative routes, according to drivers. The Htaw Kaw Koe section controlled by the PC reportedly has the most tolls.
Cars are charged 5,000 kyats (around US$1) to 20,000 kyats with far higher charges for larger vehicles, according to drivers.
Around 1,000 vehicles use the alternative routes each day to and from the border and Karen armed groups are benefitting from tolls. However, commodity prices have risen in Karen and Mon states due to higher transport costs, according to residents.
A resident in Mon State’s capital Mawlamyine said: “We expect prices will halve if the highway reopens.”
