Trade between Myanmar and China through the northern Shan State border hub of Namhkam has resumed after tensions between the Shan State Army-North (SSA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) eased.
Trucks carrying metal ore and charcoal are once again passing through Namhkam’s Naung Taung border gate to China, a local trader confirmed.
Namhkam was seized by the TNLA in December during the three-month anti-junta Operation 1027 that ended with a China-brokered ceasefire in mid-January.
The offensive was launched by the TNLA and its allies the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army (AA), collectively known as the Brotherhood Alliance.
The TNLA closed the gate on April 5 after more than 100 SSA soldiers approached the border hub amid a dispute over trade tariffs. The border crossing reportedly reopened three weeks later on April 29, manned by both TNLA and SSA troops.
The Irrawaddy could not confirm how tariffs are being divided between the two groups.
The Naung Taung crossing is located west of the Shweli River on the Chinese border. The TNLA now runs a customs department there, overseeing exports of metal and charcoal and imports of building materials, according to a trader.
“Metal was piled up at the border while the gate was closed. It is being exported to China non-stop now. Trucks carrying charcoal are also crossing into China daily,” he told The Irrawaddy.
The key local industry of charcoal production would benefit from the gate’s reopening, he said.
The gate is used to export metal ore from the historic Bawdwin mine in Namtu Township to China. Silicon produced in Namhkam Township is also exported through Naung Taung.
Myanmar meanwhile imports building materials via the gate, though other goods are also shipped according to demand, said traders.
The gate’s reopening has not been announced by the TNLA or Chinese authorities. TNLA spokesman Lwei Yay Oo said last month that trade could flow freely in TNLA-controlled areas.
The Naung Taung gate provides an alternative route for trucks seeking to avoid taxes levied by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on the route to Muse, 20 miles northeast of Namhkam.
The Muse border crossing was reopened in early March after being seized by the MNDAA and AA during Operation 1027. However, the KIA runs a checkpoint on the route near Nam Phat Kar village, Kutkai Township, levying taxes on cargo trucks.
