China to conduct live-fire drills near Myanmar border


The Chinese military will hold a live-fire exercise near its border with Myanmar, state media reported Monday, as effects from an ethnic insurgency raging in the Southeast Asian country spill over into China. The official state-run Xinhua news agency, citing unidentified military sources, said the drill would begin on Tuesday in Yunnan province, but provided no other details such as what kind of weapons would be used. The report comes as tensions have flared in the border area as Myanmar battles an ethnic insurgency in its northeastern Shan state. The country declared a state of emergency in the Kokang region in February.