Myanmar Probes Whether to Resume Construction of Controversial Chinese-Backed Dam

Myanmar is currently probing on whether to continue building the construction of China's controversial dam after it was halted in 2011 due to environmental and safety concerns.

According to the Daily Times, the hydro-power project called Myitsone dam costs $3.6 billion and aims to symbolize China's economic dominance from junta-run Myanmar. The dam, located in the northern Kachin state, poses environmental threats to the environment, and the country's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has commissioned an environmental and social impact assessment on the project before taking any actions.

The outlet notes that the decision will also consider the "desires and opinions of local people and societies and potential effects on foreign investment."

Environmentalists and protesters have previously opposed the continuation of the Chinese dam in Myanmar because of its highly controversial location. The Myitsone dam's location is near an active seismic fault. This means that once finished, this would lead to possible flooding in nearby areas.

The decision, according to AFP, will be a hard one as Beijing is still Myanmar's largest investor despite the country's democratic reforms.

In other news from Myanmar, a strange large metal object recently crashed in a Myanmar village. According to The Guardian, the metal object looks like a drum that's 4.5 meters wide (15 feet). The residents said they heard a large explosion when the metal object crashed to Earth and then bounced 50 meters across the compound of Hpakank, a mining company.

“Every local thought it was the explosion of heavy artillery. I think it was an engine because I found a diode and many copper wires at the tail of the body,” Ko Maung Myo said.