Myanmar army’s landmines at oil, gas pipelines near China ‘likely to backfire’ as coup rebellion grows
- The junta recently planted landmines around key projects in a ‘signal to Beijing it’s serious about protecting the pipelines’ amid rising rebellion against the coup
- But not only would it further antagonise the protesters, the move could also implicate China in the military’s bid to quell the post-coup conflict, an observer says
The Southeast Asian nation is already one of the world’s most heavily mined nations and the use of landmines to protect the nearly 800km pipelines will likely further antagonise residents incensed by the brutality displayed by the junta in recent months, said Myanmar expert Jason Tower.
“The placement of landmines along the pipelines … is very likely to backfire, as this provocative action will harm the interests of local communities, potentially motivating more people to join the growing forces of the People’s Defence Force across the country,” he said, referring to the loose network of militias that have sprouted up nationwide following last February’s coup.
“While the junta’s intention may be to signal to Beijing that it is serious about protecting the pipelines, China must certainly see that such crude and barbaric methods will only increase risk for its strategic energy corridor,” said Tower, the country director for Myanmar in the United States Institute of Peace.
Tower questioned whether the Chinese state firm China National Petroleum Corp, which is the majority owner of the pipeline and receives its oil and gas supplies, was amenable to the use of landmines to protect the facilities.
