Since the junta closed Friendship Bridge 2, a key crossing in Thailand-Myanmar border trade connecting Mae Sot in Thailand and Myawaddy in Myanmar's Karen State on August 18, Thai goods have been forced to enter Myanmar through piers controlled by Karen ethnic armed organizations (EAOs).

Analysts believe the junta closed the bridge to disrupt border trade and increase control over tax revenue from Thailand-Myanmar trade. However, border traders said the move is unlikely to achieve its intended goal, noting that even with the bridge closed, around 50 piers controlled by Karen EAOs along the Thaungyin (Moei) River, the natural border between the two countries, remain operational, allowing trade to continue.

“Border trade between Thailand and Myanmar has been going on for a long time, long before any of us were born. There are probably around 50 piers along the river that can handle this trade. You can just load goods onto boats and keep trading between the two countries through these piers,” said a local trader.

Export-import businessmen also report that the junta is no longer allowing food products such as peas, chili peppers, onions, potatoes, and other vegetables to be exported from Myanmar to Thailand, and is stopping them at the Sittaung River Bridge on the border between Bago Region and Mon State.

Since the junta closed Friendship Bridge 2, around 500 fully loaded trucks have been parked on the Mae Sot side. Some of their cargo has begun to be unloaded and shipped in batches to Myanmar via piers, while drivers wait for the bridge to reopen to container trucks.

Despite the bridge closure, Thai-made food and household goods continue to enter Myanmar daily through piers controlled by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF), including Gate 15, Gate 17, Yaepu Bawdwe Gate, Gate 10, and Gate 13.