Mohammad Aman Ullah:
The Myanmar government has closed border trade from Myanmar’s Yangon and Akyab ports to Teknaf land port in Cox’s Bazar for one and a half months. Members of the country’s rebel group Arakan Army stopped cargo ships on their way to Teknaf from Yangon and Akyab ports. Local traders in Teknaf said that the Myanmar government has closed border trade to prevent that. After the last three ships were seized on January 16, no cargo ships from Yangon and Akyab ports arrived in Teknaf until Tuesday afternoon, March 4.
Customs officials and import-export workers at the land port say that the conflict between Myanmar’s junta forces and the Arakan Army has had a major negative impact on the import-export trade of the two countries. Teknaf traders are in more trouble and trouble due to the closure of trade. Ehteshamul Haque Bahadur, general secretary of the Land Port C&F Agents Association and businessman, said that the Myanmar government has closed border trade from Yangon and Akyab ports in Myanmar to Teknaf land port for one and a half months due to one after another incident by Arakan people in the Naf River and the sea. Land port sources said that on January 16, members of the Arakan Army stopped three cargo ships in the Naf River and sea waters of Teknaf land port under the pretext of searching. Two cargo ships were released after four days, but another was released after 16 days. In addition, a frozen fish trawler bound for Teknaf was forced to return to Myanmar from Akyab Port. As a result, the Myanmar government has closed the Yangon-Teknaf border trade since January 16 due to security reasons.
On December 8, the Arakan Army announced that it had taken 100 percent control of Rakhine State by capturing the base of the 5th Battalion of the country’s border guard force, the Border Guard Police (BGP). The statement said that a ban on the movement of all types of vessels in the Naf River and Arakan waters has been imposed for an indefinite period. After that, no other cargo ships came to Teknaf in December. Most recently, on January 16, members of the Arakan Army stopped three cargo ships at Naikshangdia, at the Badramokam estuary of the Naf River, on their way from Yangon Port to Teknaf, claiming to be searching. Then on February 10, a speedboat chased a trawler loaded with timber from Golarchar on Shahparir Island and took it hostage at gunpoint. They have not released it yet. Port traders said that the Arakan Army had stopped three cargo ships and asked for a commission. Later, through negotiations with the businessmen of that country, they released two ships in two phases, several days later. The ship, which was released on February 2 after 16 days, is at the jetty at Teknaf Land Port. Although the land port authorities gave permission to send the ship back to Yangon Port, it has not been able to return yet due to fear of the Arakan Army. As a result, the trawler is still at Teknaf Land Port.
When asked about this, Teknaf Land Port Customs Officer BM Abdullah Al Masum said, “All the goods of the last ship that came from Yangon and Akyab Port have been unloaded. Permission to return has been given.” But the ship is still at the jetty of Teknaf land port. It was with the Arakan Army for 16 days. It has not returned yet due to security reasons. After the seizure of three ships on January 16, no cargo ships from Yangon and Akyab ports arrived in Teknaf until Tuesday afternoon, March 4. However, Teknaf’s import-export trade with the Mongu Town ship has been operating intermittently since this year on a limited scale.
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