KNU now holds one-third of Myanmar-Thailand border

Photo – AFP

This Situation Brief No. 1 (English Version) was published on July 21, 2025, as a translation of the original Burmese version published on July 18, 2025.

Following the seizure of the strategically important Ukayit Hta military camp in Myawaddy Township, Karen State, the KNU holds a third of the Myanmar-Thailand border.¹ Situated near the border line, just 30 miles (48 km) from Myawaddy and directly opposite Thailand’s Tak Province, Ukayit Hta camp was a linchpin in the junta’s border security, now fallen to the joint forces of the KNU/KNLA and allied resistance groups. The KNU now controls nearly 500 miles (800 km) of the 1,500 miles (2,416 km) border.

Since the 2021 coup, the KNU’s operations have increasingly focused on securing borderlands rather than advancing deeper into central Myanmar. Control of these frontier areas offers strategic advantages, including expanded territorial consolidation, improved access to resources, and greater influence over Myanmar-Thailand border trade routes and border security.

The capture of Ukayit Hta also reinforces the KNU’s political clout, territorial control, and administrative reach in the long-running Karen revolution. The fall of the camp, located next to the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) headquarters, further reduces the DKBA’s territory. The newly secured zone also opens a vital supply corridor for the KNU, facilitating the flow of critical resources, from food supplies to ammunition. Further attempts by the KNU to assert full control over remaining trade routes and military outposts along the border are likely to follow.

Footnote

1. Data as of July 15, 2025. ↩︎