- Web Master
- May 29, 2024
Narinjara News, September 19/2024
Dredging of the Thanzit River in Kyaukphyu Township, Arakan
(Rakhine) State, a crucial route for Chinese oil tankers traveling to Maday
Island Port, has been causing significant environmental damage, according to
locals.
The dredging, which started in early September 2024, is
being carried out by the South-East Asia Crude Oil Pipeline Company Limited, a
joint venture between the junta-affiliated Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE)
and the Chinese state-owned South-East Asia Crude Oil Pipeline Company limited
(CNPC-SEAP).
It follows a junta statement that said dredging to improve
navigation for large tankers travelling up and down the Thanzit River to Maday
Island, also in Arakan State, would be carried out from 15 July to 30
September.
Though the junta banned people from fishing or using the
Thanzit River in Kyaukphyu Township from 7 August due to the dredging it did
not start until early September.
A former Kyaukphyu MP said: "They are dredging the
Thanzit River with ships and equipment starting from Maday Island. The dredging
has been ongoing since early September, using modern machinery.”
The dredging process involves removing loose soil from coral
reefs, which is then transported by Chinese ships at night and dumped into the
sea, causing extensive harm to the natural environment, according to a local.
He said: "Loose soil from the river dredging is being
dumped into the sea by ships, causing severe environmental damage that affects
aquatic animals and the seabed.”
U Tun Kyi, a social activist from Kyaukphyu Township
explained that the Thanzit River has already been dredged and negatively
affected by tankers using the river. He warned that current dredging could
further threaten the river's remaining fish species and aquatic resources.
He said: "They have dredged the river before, and with
ongoing dredging, the remaining fish species and aquatic resources will suffer
even greater damage.”
Despite the billions of dollars generated annually by
China's major oil and natural gas projects in Kyaukphyu Township, local
communities remain impoverished and have seen no tangible benefits, according
to environmental activists.
The Chinese government, in partnership with the junta, wants
to construct additional deep-sea ports and special economic zones in Arakan
State.
Maday Island is 10 miles from Kyaukphyu Town and is the
terminal for a Chinese oil pipeline that runs to Yunnan Province in China. A
deep seawater port is also planned to be built there, as part of the Kyaukphyu
Special Economic Zone. There are four villages on Maday Island, they are:
Ywama, Pyein, Kyaukmawgyi, and Kyauktan.
The Arakan Army (AA) has escalated its operations in
Kyaukphyu Township and it already controls a large part of the township
including extensive rural areas. It has encircled the junta troops stationed in
Kyaukphyu Town and is fighting an ongoing offensive against them. There are
many Chinese backed investment projects in Kyaukphyu Township.