By Paskorn Jumlongrach
Zung Ting, a Kachin environmentalist who has worked for more than 20 years to develop communities and protect natural resources in Kachin State, Myanmar. He was forced to flee Myanmar after General Min Aung Hlaing and the Tatmadaw carried out a coup in 2021. Currently, Zung Ting is pursuing a PhD in Political Science at Chulalongkorn University.
Transborder News interviewed Zung Ting on the topic of geopolitics and the rare earth mining situation in Kachin State.
“China’s rapid development has created a huge need for resources. The main work of civil society organizations in Kachin state is to push for protecting resources and the environment for communities. Right now, the issue of rare earths has become regional,” Zung Ting pointed out, giving a broad view of rare-earth mining in Kachin, all of which is financed by Chinese businessmen.
“The heaviest impact is on communities that use river resources, streams, and forests. They suffer terribly because the land is contaminated. People’s livelihoods are severely affected; many mining areas are facing life-threatening conditions. The security of life is also severely impacted because these mines are destroying the environment,” the Kachin environmentalist said. He noted that during 2009-2010, the New Kachin Democratic Army (NDAK), the Kachin Border Guard Forces (BGF) under the Myanmar army, which controlled the border area, as well as the Kachin Independence Army (KIA/KIO), entered into a ceasefire. But NDAK grew and became a force under the supervision of the Tatmadaw, functioning as BGF, and both of these forces began to attract investors to open rare-earth mines.
“We were working in churches, doing community development. At that time we didn’t even know what rare earths were; we just thought they would come to build our country, to make the Kachin State flourish. The word ‘earth’ was heard only as uranium mining,” Zung Ting said.
“This happened after China changed its policy; the central Chinese government tightened rare-earth mining so much that mining rare earths domestically was almost impossible, and it became refining of ore from the source area—moving ore elsewhere. At that time, in Kachin State, politics also changed; KIA, with a ceasefire, had to do business, so they sought mining with good prices. Both forces, KIA and NDAK, ended up mining rare earths.”
“Mining started a lot, every year new mines appeared, until the 2021 coup in Myanmar. At that time rare-earth mining boomed, growing extremely fast. There were also gold and jade mines. But crucially, there were no standards or state oversight. From then the mining boomed.”
When asked whether there are no laws regulating mining at all, Zung Ting said Myanmar has fairly good laws that were drafted during Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. He himself attended meetings to draft these laws and regulations during the democratic government. But in conflict-affected areas such as Kachin State, Karen State, and Shan State, the government cannot reach or control them. It is up to local armed groups that wield influence in their areas, and there are no mining laws for civil society. “We have campaigned that ethnic armed organizations must be held responsible, but the military offensives and clashes in Myanmar have rendered these laws meaningless.”
When asked whether civil society has raised issues in Kachin State to China officially, he replied that there is no official channel to inform China, and to this day they still cannot find one because Myanmar has been mired in conflict for too long.
“Today we still have no channel to inform China officially. We would like to tell them officially. In fact, China knows what mining in this way does, and the consequences. That’s why they stop mining in their own country. It’s a matter of geopolitics; they extract resources from our land—forests, jade, gold—because of the gaps in Kachin State. China knows how damaging the environment can be. The fighting in Kachin also affects their investments.”
Asked how mining revenues are channeled to armed groups locally, he replied that there is a system written by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA/KIO), but it is not very well defined. It is arranged area by area, with high levels of corruption. There is some compensation, for instance if communities report impacts, there should be compensation.
“Mining in KIA and BGF areas does not have uniform compensation standards; it depends on local market prices. For a mine of a given size, the compensation would be at a given price. In reality, it should be much higher if following Chinese law. But I can tell you that no compensation is enough for people’s lives and the environment.”
This environmental defender from Kachin said that there is currently no clear figure of how many rare-earth mines are in Kachin, because there is no official data. The latest estimates suggest there are about 371 rare-earth mines and 2,795 leaching pools, all owned by 100% Chinese interests, with multiple companies or groups. In 2012, China introduced laws regulating mining domestically, causing small companies to stop mining in China. They then moved into Myanmar, mostly as subsidiaries of Chinese state-owned enterprises affiliated with the Communist Party of China.
“These companies cannot operate properly in China, so they flock to Kachin State, where there is a legal gap. It is easy for them to obtain licenses. The mining investors in Kachin are entirely Chinese, with many small subsidiary companies, which are booming now.”
Asked about the rumor that China wants the KIA/KIO to stop fighting the Myanmar army, or it will not buy rare-earth ore, Zung Ting laughed and said the rumor is not true and mainly a political and cross-border trade issue. He admitted that KIA is under Chinese pressure to stop fighting, but China cannot force KIA. China is big and shares a long border with Kachin State. KIA strategically negotiates with China, including closing or controlling border posts, because KIA plays a major role for the Myanmar revolutionary forces. KIA is a leading force of the revolutionary movement in Myanmar and in the National Unity Government (NUG) in exile. Therefore KIA must have revenue that comes from cross-border trade, sometimes China pressures by closing border posts.
When asked about a recent visit by U.S. representatives to Kachin, the conservationist said that the Kachin Resource Concern Group did meet with a U.S. representative. “But I personally don’t like it, because the area used to be peaceful, but now it seems the United States is supporting the Myanmar military. They should not come now, should not visit or speak right now. I don’t like it, I cannot accept it, but I don’t know how others think. It’s geopolitics; what is their objective? But many groups might like it.”
He added, “Right now KIA controls mining areas in Kachin, which has greatly improved the situation, though not perfectly. There are negotiations that are better than before, with some attempts at control. At least they are channeling mining revenue to support the revolutionary movement, the spring revolution—the revolution for the people.”
Asked what his highest hope is for how rare earth mining in Kachin State should be, Zung Ting replied that it is a very big question. “We think about it all the time in this situation; the KIA plays a very important role in Myanmar’s Spring Revolution and must have revenue. Personally, I wish rare-earth mining would stop, but that would not be appropriate at this moment. We urge KIA and Chinese companies to follow the rules, mine more sustainably. In the near future we may stop some mines or impose standards so that benefits come to the people and the public as we develop society together. But stopping all mines now is not possible. We ask for mining to be done with higher standards and more accountability.”
Asked how stopping rare-earth mining in Kachin would affect China, he said heavy rare-earth elements (HREEs) are the most important in this industry and are scarce because they are not found everywhere. If mining in Kachin were stopped, China would be affected, because China has many mining operations in the region and could impact global markets. If someday our country is stable and we have a government of the people working for the people’s benefit, mining will certainly close.
When asked about Shan State (on Thailand’s border) just now having rare-earth mining and causing heavy metals to contaminate the Mekong and other rivers, what advice would he give to Thai society? He said this is a major challenge because the issue of rare earths is international. China currently cannot control the KIA because the KIA negotiates strategically and uses diplomatic means.
“KIA will not submit to China. They act for the people, so China has turned to the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which can be commanded more easily. Therefore, regarding the impact on Thai people, you may face more problems because in the Wa areas they control forces. Thai people and the Kachin must work together to raise this issue regionally, to campaign together. I think there is a path.”
This is a translation of original Thai article, https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=43608
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