Playing with Fire: How Engagement with Illicit Economies Shapes the Survival and Resilience of Ethnic Armed Organisations in the China-Myanmar Borderlands

Peng, Xu

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between the survival and resilience of ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and their involvement in the illicit economy in the China-Myanmar borderlands of northern Shan State over time. Drawing on fieldwork conducted from 2018 to 2022 in both the China-Myanmar and Thai-Myanmar borderlands, it employs a spatiotemporal approach to explore the interactions among border openness/closure, transnational flows, EAO’s strategies, and illicit economies, including the Cold War era drug trade, the gambling industry in the early twenty-first century, and the post-Covid-19 online scams industry. The study reveals how EAOs use the border as a resource, adapting their strategies to changing political environments. It argues that these interactions are not linear but rather characterised by reciprocal influences across various historical periods. This historical overview of the interactions between non-state armed groups and illicit economies reveals the complexity of the contested borderland along the Chinese border.

Citation

Peng, X. (2024). Playing with Fire: How Engagement with Illicit Economies Shapes the Survival and Resilience of Ethnic Armed Organisations in the China-Myanmar Borderlands. China perspectives, 138(9-20), 9-20. https://doi.org/10.4000/12fwg

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 24, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 9, 2024
• Publication Date: Oct 9, 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 14, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 10, 2025
• Journal: China Perspectives
• Print ISSN: 2070-3449
• Electronic ISSN: 1996-4617
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 138
• Issue: 9-20
• Pages: 9-20
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/12fwg
• Keywords: China-Myanmar borderlands, ethnic armed organisations (EAOs), illicit economy, drug trade, gambling, online scams
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.4000/12fwg
• Related Public URLs: http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/17295