Myanmarese villagers have damaged a fence erected by China in Muse township saying that the fence had been built inside Myanmar territory. They have done so repeatedly in the last few months citing encroachment by the Chinese military.

China had begun constructing high-tech fences in 2020 on its southern border with Myanmar to curb illegal crossings by Myanmarese people in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19. Last year, even the Myanmar military had objected to the fence saying that it violated a Myanmar-China border pact of 1961.

Nearly a year later, villagers in Kachin in the north of Myanmar, and Shan states in the east have broken the fences.

Reports say that the Myanmarese villagers have broken the fences at least thrice in the last couple of months. The local residents say that the Myanmar government and the Chinese authorities have not been able to resolve the issue of Chinese encroachment on Myanmar land.

There is a growing unease among the local Myanmarese that the barbed wire fences and surveillance cameras are being built on Myanmar land. The Chinese embassy in Myanmar has denied the allegations, saying: "The fences will not enter Myanmar territory. China and Myanmar have been in close communication on this issue and hope the media can report it objectively”, reports Radio Free Asia.

The Chinese embassy in Myanmar said that it is a common practice in many countries to strengthen border management.

China has seen a stream of coronavirus cases in the border town of Ruili in the Yunnan province which lies to its south-west. Beijing blames these cases on a porous border crossing in Ruili, which has been under severe lockdown and covid-control measures.

With Myanmar under military rule, the army junta has been busy trying to run the country on one side and quelling the pro-democracy movement on the other.

Than Soe Naing, an analyst of ethnic affairs in Myanmar, told RFA that China may have reached an understanding with the ethnic armed groups in Kachin. He said: “Thus, we see today that new fences are being set up, especially in areas where there are clashes between junta forces and local militias who are trying to stop [central government] incursions into their land”.

Chinese antics in Myanmar are proof of the salami-slicing antics by Beijing under which it's troops encroach upon the territories of neighbouring countries and force them to accept the encroachment as the legitimate border.

Beijing has started border disputes with India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Japan, Taiwan besides countries in the South China Sea over the ownership of islands. The number and intensity of the disputes with neighbours have increased in the two years since the coronavirus was detected in Wuhan in late 2019.