In southeastern Myanmar, rubber production has been linked with conflict financing, according to a 2020 report by Forest Policy Trade and Finance Initiative. Particularly in the Tanintharyi Region, rubber has been used to finance long-standing ethnic conflicts involving various rebel groups and the national military (the Tatmadaw). Indeed, Mon businessmen, who are often the former commanders of the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA), the armed wing of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), have used their connections to establish rubber plantations in northern Tanintharyi. The expansion of rubber plantations by these businessmen, backed by the NMSP, effectively finances the rebel group by providing economic resources and territorial control. The establishment of rubber plantations on lands designated as 'wastelands' or 'vacant lands' by the government allows Mon businessmen to gain official land use rights. However, this process disenfranchises Karen communities, who previously inhabited these lands before being displaced by the Tatmadaw, and finances the ongoing conflict.