The Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge is a bridge over the

Moei river The Moei River (, , ), also known as the Thaungyin River (; ) is a tributary of the Salween River. Unlike most rivers in Thailand, the Moei River flows north in a northwest direction. It originates in Phop Phra District, Tak Province, flowing th ...

, which connects the city of

Mae Sot Mae Sot (; , ; , ; , ) is a city in western Thailand that shares a border with Myanmar to the west. It is notable as a trade hub and for its substantial population of Burmese migrants and refugees. The city is part of Tak Province, 87 km fr ...

in Tak Province in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

with the city of

Myawaddy Myawaddy (; ; ; ; Eastern Pwo language, Phlone ) is a town in southeastern Myanmar, in Kayin State, close to the border with Thailand. Separated from the Thai border town of Mae Sot by the Moei River (Thaungyin River), the town is the most impo ...

Kayin State Kayin State (, ; ; , ), formerly known as Karen State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. The capital city is Hpa-An, also spelled Pa-An. The terrain of the state is mountainous; with the Dawna Range running along the ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. This international bridge is long and wide. The bridge forms an important link on

Asian Highway 1 Asian Highway 1 (AH1) is the longest east-west route of the Asian Highway Network, running from Tokyo, Japan via the Korean Peninsula (South Korea and North Korea), China (Mainland China and Hong Kong), Mainland Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Camb ...

Asian Highway Network The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

. Another bridge to the north of the first, called the Second Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge was opened in 2019, and serves as another connection between Mae Sot and Myawaddy. The bridges are part of the East-West Economic Corridor connecting

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Location

The First and Second Friendship Bridges are located over the Moei River, connecting Tak Province, Thailand with Kayin State, Myanmar. The first bridge is also the terminus for Thai Highway 12. The second bridge is located a bit north of the first in Tambon Tha Sai Luad, and does not connect Mae Sot proper with Myawaddy proper. On the Thai side, it is part of Highway 130 and diverges off from Highway 12 before Mae Sot. It eventually reconnects with the Asian Highway 1 on the Myanmar side.

History

The Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge was opened on 15 August 1997. It was the first bridge between Thailand and Myanmar. On 15 August 2017, Thailand and Myanmar celebrated the 20th anniversary of the bridge's opening. The deputy governor of Tak province and Myawaddy governor attended the ceremony. Work on the Second Thai-Myanmar Friendship bridge began 21 January 2015. According to ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

,'' it was supposed to have been opened in December 2017 but was delayed by slow progress on the Myanmar side. Land owners in Myanmar had been resisting land expropriations required to construct a four kilometre road connecting the bridge with the Asian Highway 1, due to the offers by the Myanmar government being below the market price. On 20 March 2019, the second bridge was opened in an opening ceremony attended by the

State Counsellor of Myanmar The State Counsellor of Myanmar () was the ''de facto'' head of government of Myanmar, equivalent to a prime minister, from 2016 to 2021. The office was created in 2016 after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the 2015 Myanmar ...

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

, and the Prime-Minister of Thailand,

Prayut Chan-o-cha Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; , ; born 21 March 1954) is a former Thai politician, army officer and dictator who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état, 2014 coup ...

. The second bridge cost around ฿4 billion.

Closure and reopening

The bridges were closed for three years due to both countries taking measures to prevent the spread

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. The closure began on 23 March 2020 with the closure of border checkpoints on both sides. Cross-border cargo trade over the second bridge resumed on 27 October 2020, with COVID precautions. The decision came from the governor of Tak province, Pongrat Piromrat, after health authorities in Mae Sot said that they were confident COVID-19 had been brought under control in the area. Plans to reopen the bridge were first announced on 1 May 2022, with the border checkpoints on the Thai side being cleaned up in preparations for reopening. But the reopening had been delayed and it eventually reopened on 12 January 2023. However, it was forced to close again on 26 March 2023 due to fighting between the

Tatmadaw The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include ...

and Kareni members of the People's Defence Force. In April 2024, following multiple battles in the region, the border was closed for people wanting to leave Myanmar, while entering Myanmar was still possible. The road to Myawaddy through the Dawna Mountains 42

The road to Myawaddy through the Dawna Mountains 42

Cross-border tensions

During the COVID-19 closure, Myawaddy came under siege due to the ongoing civil war in Myanmar, which would later lead to several incidents involving the bridges. On 11 March 2022, insurgents groups bombed the Second Friendship Bridge, resulting in a drop of cargo trucks travelling across the Myanmar-Thai border. A temporary bridge was constructed on 16 March to supplement the Second Bridge, but was limited to vehicles below 50 tonnes. On 24 April 2022, a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...

exploded at the foot of the First Friendship Bridge on the Myanmar side. The bomb had been planted by insurgent forces, and cut the power supply to the area around the bridge on the Myanmar side. Myanmar officials and the

Border Guard Force Border Guard Forces (; abbreviated BGF) are subdivisions of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) consisting of former insurgent groups in Myanmar under the instruction of Regional Military Commands. The government announced its plan to create Bor ...

then clashed with an insurgent group at the explosion site for 15 minutes. On 15 October 2022, Another bomb exploded near the First Friendship Bridge, at a border checkpoint . On 29 May 2023, the military junta of Myanmar made a request to Thailand's Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), requesting that they stop supplying power to the border towns of Shwe Kokko and Lay Kay Kaw. Both towns had heavy Chinese investments, and contracts between Shwe Myint Thaung Yinn (SMTY) Industry and Manufacturing Co. Ltd and PEA kept them supplied with electricity. The contract was set to expire on 28 February, but SMTY had requested a temporary renewal. The PEA followed Myanmar's request, and cut power on 6 June. The border region on Myanmar's side was controlled by the Kareni

warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

Chit Tu and his Kareni Border Guard Forces, who were at the time both allied with the military junta. Chit Tu subsequently threatened to close both friendship bridges. Prayut Chan-o-cha, who was both the Thai Prime-Minister and

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, responded to the situation by saying “It is an internal matter of Myanmar and does not have any impact on the Thai people”. In early 2024, forces of the

Karen National Liberation Army The Karen National Liberation Army (; abbreviated KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar (formerly Burma). The KNLA has been fighting the Burmes ...

Karen National Union The Karen National Union (; abbreviated KNU) is a political organisation with an armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), that claims to represent the Karen people of Myanmar. It operates in mountainous eastern Myanmar and has un ...

(KNU), and the People's Defence Force began to engage junta forces around Myawaddy. On April 10, the KNU claimed to have captured the city and push junta soldiers out towards the Second Friendship Bridge. Throughout April, junta forces retained the area around the bridge, with Karen forces engaging junta soldiers who were hiding near the Second Friendship Bridge on April 20. As a result of the unrest, around 3,000 civilians fled to the Thai side, with some many through via the bridges. By April 24, Myawaddy was recaptured by junta forces. Renewed fighting at the end of April caused the Second Friendship bridge to be closed between April 20 and April 30. The First Friendship Bridge was also temporarily closed before being reopened on April 27.

References

External links

Thai – Myanmar Friendship Bridge
-

Tourism Authority of Thailand The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) () is an organization of Thailand under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Its mandate is to promote Thailand's tourism industry, and protect the environment. History Its predecessor, Tourism of Thaila ...