When insurgents finally gained control of the town of Kyaukme - on the main trade route from the Chinese border to the rest of Myanmar - it was after several months of hard fighting last year. Kyaukme straddles Asian Highway 14, more famous as the Burma Road during World War Two, and its capture by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) was seen by many as a pivotal victory for the opposition. It suggested that the morale of the military junta which had seized power in 2021 might be crumbling. This month, though, it took just three weeks for the army to recapture Kyaukme. The fluctuating fate of this little hill town is a stark illustration of how far the military balance in Myanmar has now shifted, in favour of the junta.
These towns fell primarily because China has thrown its weight behind the junta, backing its plan to hold an election in December. This plan has been widely condemned because it excludes Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, which won the last election but its government was ousted in the coup, and because so much of Myanmar is in a state of civil war. That is why the military is currently trying to take back as much lost territory as it can, to ensure the election can take place in these areas. The junta's military has responded to early opposition gains by purchasing drones from China and utilizing new technologies in air strikes. Meanwhile, the fragmented resistance movement faces numerous challenges, including a lack of central leadership and dwindling supplies, as they continue to fight back against the junta's advances.
