China has placed soldiers along its border with Myanmar in response to intensified conflict between the Myanmar government and ethnic separatists in the country, Reuters reported, citing Chinese state-owned media. Troops have been sent to the border between China’s Yunnan province and Myanmar’s northern Kachin state, The Global Times reported, without giving further details. “On the night of the 9th, there was shelling in Kachin, and residents of the unstable area quickly ran inside the Chinese border to pass the night in peace,” the report said. Artillery shells exploded inside China’s Yingjiang county, which borders Myanmar, according to the People’s Daily. China, having strong business and trade ties with Myanmar, has consistently urged the Southeast Asian country to take action to secure the vast and remote border. The use of aircraft by Myanmar’s new civilian government in the 18-month conflict in Kachin has sparked doubts about its reform effort, although it denies making outright airstrikes.
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