PRC and India vie for Influence on Rebel Militias in Myanmar

Khandakar Tahmid Rejwan

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Ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar’s Shan and Kachin states—which control most of the country’s rare-earth element (REE) mining sites—have become increasingly dependent on revenues generated from leasing and facilitating Chinese rare-earth imports.

Beijing weaponizes the rebel groups’ economic dependence on REEs to dominate the global supply chain and enforce political compliance along its border.

India is beginning to engage the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to secure independent rare earth supplies, though Beijing’s entrenched influence over Myanmar’s militias severely limits New Delhi’s prospects for success.