China hopes Burma will ensure peace and stability along their border and keep stray bullets out of its neighbour’s territory, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, after a senior Chinese military commander visited the Southeast Asian country this week.

Gen Saw Chit Thu, leader of the Karen Border Guard Force, said he may close Karen State's border with Thailand if a dispute with Thai officials is not resolved.

News of the new routes is sure to well received by intrepid travellers, who no longer have to queue up at a Burmese embassy for consecutive days to get a stamp to enter the country.

With India's pivot to the east, the country's border with Burma is taking on new importance, but remains a source of tension.

Some 250-300 patients and family members are fed at the clinic twice daily, and an incredible 3,000 child births are recorded every year.

Hopes that a new, four lane bridge will boost trade in Thailand and Burma.