UNDER BRITISH rule, Burma boasted(拥有（自豪地）) the largest tungsten(钨) mine in the world at Maw Chi, near the border with Thailand. Decades of war and misrule(治理不善) have slashed(大幅削减) the mine’s output. But labourers working in small teams at Maw Chi still dig up the metal before sending it on to Thailand and global markets to make aeroplanes, missiles and semiconductors. That has made Maw Chi a prize in the war between the military junta which seized power in Myanmar in 2021 and rebels opposing it.(这使得 Maw Chi 成为 2021 年夺取缅甸政权的军政府与反对它的叛军之间战争中的争夺目标。)
在英国统治时期，缅甸的 Maw Chi 曾拥有世界上最大的钨矿，该矿位于靠近泰国边境的地区。数十年的战争与治理不善使该矿产量大幅下降。但 Maw Chi 的工人们仍以小组形式挖掘这种金属，然后将其运往泰国和全球市场，用于制造飞机、导弹和半导体。这使得 Maw Chi 成为 2021 年夺取缅甸政权的军政府与反对它的叛军之间战争中的争夺目标。
Two years ago rebels captured Maw Chi and started to put its revenue stream(收入来源) towards their war effort. The junta responded with occasional air strikes on the mine. Rebels countered(反击) by creating an ingenious(巧妙的) early-warning system using Starlink, the space-based internet service that is run by SpaceX. When the junta launched an attack aircraft, a spotter(观察员) near the airfield would alert civilians at the mine site to take shelter(躲避). But on September 1st that warning system failed. A jet bombed the mine at Maw Chi without any alert, says a local rebel commander, killing five and injuring six. One of the Starlink terminals used for the early-warning system had been cut off, leaving the miners in the dark.(用于预警系统的其中一个星链终端被切断了，让矿工们陷入黑暗之中。)
两年前，叛军攻占了 Maw Chi，并开始将其收入用于战争。军政府则以偶尔的空袭作为回应。叛军则通过创建一套使用星链（Starlink）的巧妙预警系统来反击——星链是由 SpaceX 运营的太空互联网服务。当军政府发动攻击机时，机场附近的观察员会提醒矿区的平民躲避。但 9 月 1 日，该预警系统失效了。一名当地叛军指挥官说，一架喷气式飞机在没有任何警报的情况下轰炸了 Maw Chi 的矿区，造成 5 人死亡、6 人受伤。用于预警系统的其中一个星链终端被切断了，让矿工们陷入黑暗之中。
Starlink has become essential in parts of Myanmar riven(被撕裂的) by conflict or governed by rebels. The junta has turned off cellular services in many of these areas, leaving rebel armies and humanitarian(人道主义的) organisations reliant on(依赖) connections to SpaceX’s satellites in low-earth orbit. The democratic government-in-exile(流亡政府) uses Starlink to remotely run schools and hospitals in liberated areas, where too large a physical footprint would attract attention from the junta’s air force. In these places Starlink is ubiquitous(无处不在的) even though, on paper(理论上), the service is not available in Myanmar. Terminals are procured(采购) elsewhere and brought into the country illegally. Until recently, SpaceX has tended to turn a benevolent blind eye towards their use.
在缅甸一些饱受冲突蹂躏或被叛军控制的地区，星链已成为不可或缺的工具。军政府切断了其中许多地区的蜂窝网络服务，使得叛军和人道组织只能依赖 SpaceX 低地球轨道卫星的连接。流亡的民主政府利用星链远程运营解放区的学校和医院——在这些地方，实体存在规模过大就会引起军政府空军的注意。在这些地方，星链无处不在，尽管官方上该服务在缅甸并未开放。终端在其他地方采购，然后非法带入该国。直到最近，SpaceX 一直倾向于对其使用睁一只眼闭一只眼。