China will conduct three days of live-fire military exercises near the Myanmar border starting Tuesday

The drilling area was defined by points including Ruili Town near Huyi and Wanting Townships, Zhenkang County near Mengdui Township, and Gengma Dai and Wa Autonomous Counties near Mengding City.

In its statement on Monday, the provincial government said that vehicles and people entering the demarcated area must respect traffic rules, indicating that access has not been blocked.

“The aim is to test the capabilities of troops in the operational area in terms of rapid mobility, three-dimensional containment and joint combat to maintain the security and stability of the border areas,” the People’s Liberation Army said in a statement.

The planned army and air force patrols are a result of increasing violence in the ongoing civil war in neighboring Myanmar between the ruling junta and armed ethnic minority groups. The destabilizing situation poses a challenge to Chinese border security.

There are also concerns about the security of Chinese assets and individuals in the border region.

Amid growing concerns about the security situation in the country, Beijing held two live-fire exercises on its border with Myanmar in April.

At the time, the military newspaper PLA Daily said that the war in Myanmar had “seriously threatened” security and stability in the border region and that the Chinese army would take “all necessary measures” to protect the safety of its people.

Yunnan province shares a roughly 2,000 km border with Myanmar, and China has invested heavily in its neighbor over the years, even after the military coup in Myanmar in 2021.

Myanmar also plays an important role in China’s ambitions for direct access to the Indian Ocean, as Beijing seeks to reduce its dependence on bottlenecks in the Strait of Malacca for its oil imports.

Beijing is trying to pressure both the junta and the rebels into negotiations, but so far with limited success.

Last week, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during his meeting with Julie Bishop, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Myanmar: “No other country wants Myanmar to restore stability and achieve development more than China.”