Communist Party of Burma Supports Its Military with Opium Production, Taking a Page from China’s Red Army
Burma, also known as Myanmar, has become the largest producer of opium in the world, surpassing even Afghanistan. This can be traced back to the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) learning from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategy of “feeding the army by producing drugs.” During the Sino-Japan war, the CCP saved itself by poisoning its own people through the cultivation and sale of opium. This legacy continues to affect Burma to this day, with opium production surging by 36 percent this year to reach 1,080 tons, the highest level since 2001. This comes after 2014-2020 saw a decrease in opium cultivation, which rose again by 33 percent following the ousting of the government in February 2021. The largest increase in cultivation is in northern Shan State, along with Chin State and Kachin State. The refined opium is largely trafficked into China, supplying millions of drug addicts there.
In China, more than 1.9 million people are estimated to be registered opium users. Following China, the number of opium users in Burma, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand continues to rise. The CPB, who established military regions following the example set by the CCP, faced financial difficulties due to the poverty of the Burmese people and initial struggle in collecting taxes. This led them to follow the example set by the CCP and engage in opium production and trafficking. Following the CCP’s lead, the Northeast Military Region of CPB set up a “Special Cargo Trade Group” in 1976, directly overseen by the region’s Finance Minister, Wu Juemin. Later, the CPB Central Committee also centralized and expanded this drug production, leading to Burma’s status as a significant drug kingdom in the “Golden Triangle” area. The drugs mostly entered China through Yunnan Province, with more than 90 percent of heroin and methamphetamine seized in China in 2014 coming from the “Golden Triangle” area.
