Shan State locals said they were alarmed to see Chinese troops on their side of the border and to witness the public confrontation over the project.

Chinese soldiers—in full uniform and backed by military equipment—blocked the construction of an office at the Sin Phyu border market in Muse, on the Shan border, this week.

Locals told SHAN that the troops entered the northern Shan State town through the border fence on Wednesday morning and called for the building to be halted.

“They claimed that the construction site belongs to China. That’s why they came and blocked the construction,” Sai Aye, who witnessed the incident, said.Sai Aye added that he and other locals were alarmed to see the Chinese troops in the town, and expected that such negotiations about construction would occur through administrative channels rather than public confrontations.

Muse police confirmed that they had temporarily stopped building the border market office after the incident.

Chinese authorities began construction of a border wall in Hpai Kawng village on the Pangsai-Mong Paw road in Muse District on September 19, but later abandoned the project.