OSINT: Myanmar's New Dry Dock Built By China Flooded
Chinese engineers have reached a major milestone in the expansion and modernization of the Myanmar (aka Burma) military Junta's navy. The large dry dock being constructed by the Chinese on the banks of the Yangon River. The focus on growing the navy has suffered during the ongoing civil war (which looks likely to end the Junta sooner or later), but China continues to prop them up. Russia too is an ally, even joining the Myanmar Navy for joint drills in the past couple of days.
As previously reported, China has been assisting Myanmar in the construction of a modern dry dock on the Yangon River (vicinity 16.7036°, 96.2286°). Work clearing the ground for the site near the Thilawa Shipyard started in November 2019. The docks have now been flooded.
The docks were flooded some time between the 3rd and 8th October. As far as I can tell from open sources, this is the first time that they have been flooded, representing a major milestone in their construction.
Sentinel 2 low-resolution satellite imagery showing the docks flooded. The orange vessel inside the dock appears to be a barge used in the construction. The blue roofs are typical of Chinese construction sites abroad.
The most recent images available on Google Earth, from April 30 2023, show the dry dock under construction.
Despite its isolation the Myanmar Navy has some relatively modern home-grown warships. These are equipped with a range of weapons, notably including North Korean systems. Myanmar has even built its own indigenous coastal submarine. Meanwhile both India and China have been courting the Junta, supplying an old KILO and a Ming class submarine respectively.
Myanmar Navy
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