Myanmar conflict puts China in dilemma
- Source: Global Times
- [01:22 August 28 2009]
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By Qiu Yongzheng in Kunming and Guo Qiang in Beijing
Thousands of ethnic Chinese in Myanmar are making their way across the border into Chinese territory to seek shelter from the ruling military force that has deployed troops to the region, according to local authorities in China's Nansan county, southwest Yunnan Province.
Yu Chunyan, deputy press officer with the Yunnan Provincial Government, told the Global Times that some Myanmar nationals in Kokang have fled to Nansan, and efforts to provide them with humanitarian assistance are in place.
But Yu said the number of people entering Chinese territory wasn't available, as it is still rising. “It's difficult to get a real-time update of that number,” he said.
An unnamed official in Nansan said local and provincial authorities have set up an emergency office and a refugee camp to deal with the rise in refugees.
The Economic Information Daily, run by the Xinhua News Agency, reported Wednesday that up to 10,000 refugees fled the area from August 8-12 alone.
China has increased the number of armed police along the China-Myanmar border to prevent conflicts from spilling into China, the Global Times has learned.
The mass exodus from Kokang broke out after the Myanmar Army deployed troops, according to an AFP report, citing the US Campaign for Burma (USCB), which uses Myanmar's former name.
“Myanmar residents make up most of the influx,” Yu said. “Some of them have turned to relatives in China. But for the majority of them, we have provided timely humanitarian assistance, including accommodations, blankets and food.”
A source close to Kokang leader Pheung Kya-shin (Peng Jiasheng), who declined to give his name, citing the sensitivity of the issue, told the Global Times, “The government military and Kokang armed forces are at war, leading to a number of civilian deaths; many hospital ambulances in Chinese territories are in place to transfer the victims.”
