Asia // Current TV

Study: Himalayas Lost No Ice in Past 10 Years

The world's greatest snow-capped peaks, which run in a chain from the Himalayas... more

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Thailand recognizes Palestinian State

Note: earlier this week Israeli Intelligence officials warned Thailand officials that... more

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21 days ago
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North Korea: The Most Bizarre Country On Earth Is Now Even More Unstable

A new era has arrived for North Korea and nobody in the western world really knows... more

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1 month ago
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ViVA Girls Grabs 2nd Place In MusicDish*China MV Competition

The video "Yin Yang" by China based group ViVA Girls is exceedingly... more

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Asia Office Rents Rise at Double Global Pace

Office rents in the Asia-Pacific region increased at about double the global pace in... more

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New @ 10: The China Question

One man's personal journey across China and America to understand the moral,... more

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Ghent Film Festival, Americana Music Festival, Toronto After Dark Film Fest, Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Conference, are Event Highlights in October

Hollywood Reporter and Billboard join forces to deliver a two-day seminar on the role... more

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4 months ago
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The killing fields of Pakistan

"The bloodbath in Karachi continues. The death toll in the last week alone has... more

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6 months ago
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Singapore - "TomorrowLand"? or Totalitarian?

talks about ways there is and is not "freedom" on this little island city-state

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Singapore - "TomorrowLand"? or Totalitarian?

article talks about "freedoms" that Singapore does and does not have, plus a... more

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Dozens killed in Burma (Myanmar) amid clashes over Chinese dams

"Fighting over hydropower projects ends 17-year ceasefire between Burmese government and Kachin militia.

A bloody outbreak of fighting that has ended a 17-year ceasefire between Burmese government forces and a tribal militia was partly caused by the expansion of Chinese hydropower along the Irrawaddy river, conservationists claim.

Dozens of people in northern Burma have reportedly been killed in the clashes between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army. Thousands more are trying to flee across the border after fierce fighting erupted this month around the construction sites of two Chinese-financed dams in the region.

Amid growing fears that the conflict could escalate, the Burma Rivers Network said China's massive hydropower investments had widened the gulf between the government – which wants to benefit from cross-border electricity sales – and Kachin independence groups, which fear the dams will bring environmental, cultural and social disruption.

"The conflict is closely related to the dams. The government has sent in troops because it wants to gain control of a region that hosts major Chinese investments in hydropower," Sai Sai, of the Burma Rivers Network, told the Guardian.

Details of the fighting remain sketchy. The authorities have yet to acknowledge the conflict. The Irrawaddy magazine – which is published online by overseas critics of the Rangoon government – said stability in northern Burma had deteriorated rapidly with several explosions in the Kachin state capital, Myitkyina, the government closure of Sino-Burmese trading routes and the destruction of at least three bridges.

Burma Rivers Network said power transmission pylons at Dapein dam had been toppled, the fighting had spread to Shweli dam and Kachin forces had vowed to widen the conflict to all areas under their control. The death toll is said to be close to 50.

Dams are by no means the only cause of tension in the region. The uneasy standoff was shaken last year when the Kachin Independence Army rejected a proposal to fall under central government control as a border guard force. Since then the two sides have jostled over territory.

But China's plans to finance, build and generate electricity from at least seven dams in the region may have given the government a greater economic and diplomatic incentive to take control of strategically important areas that have long been in the hands of Kachin forces. According to Burma Rivers Network the investment is worth $3.6bn and will result in annual power sales of $500m.

The state-controlled firm behind the projects – China Power Investment – refused to comment. "We don't accept any interview on our overseas projects. Every company has their own business secrets," said a spokesperson from the Hong Kong-listed corporation."

cont"Fighting over hydropower projects ends 17-year ceasefire between Burmese... more