Payathonzu border gate in Kyainseikkyi Township, Kayin State is not officially opened as it may create land disputes in the future, said State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on February 24 making a response to a question raised by a local about the reopening of Payathonzu border gate.

“The decision to open the border gate is set by the union government. I can see that border gates are making convenience for locals but we have to consider for the long term. Our country is bordering many countries. In some border areas, borders are not set specifically. They are not recognized by both countries. So we have to be careful in those places. It will cause land disputes in the future,” she said.

“Another thing is we need mutual agreement to establish a border gate. So we cannot make decisions easily. People are asking to open border gates along the border to make business easily with other countries and some of them are allowed and some of them are not,” she said.

“We knew that the State Counsellor would give an answer like that because we also asked about it to the MPs and they replied the same answer. We knew that there are problems opening the border gate but we want to open the border gate as soon as possible. We want the government to define the border quickly,” said a local Than Lwin.

The Payathonzu border gate was opened in 1992 and closed in 2007, according to locals.