China envoy, Myanmar junta chief meet on border clashes

Above, members of the ethnic armed group Ta’ang National Liberation Army stand guard at a checkpoint in the town of Kyaukme in Myanmar’s northern Shan State. (AFP)

• Myanmar’s northern Shan state has been the site of repeated clashes since late June
• Ethnic rebel groups renewed an offensive against the military along a vital trade highway to China

YANGON: China’s special envoy met Myanmar’s junta chief for talks on “peace and stability” along their shared border, Myanmar state media reported Friday, days after ethnic rebels seized a regional military command.
Myanmar’s northern Shan state has been the site of repeated clashes since late June after ethnic rebel groups renewed an offensive against the military along a vital trade highway to China.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing discussed “internal peace processes in Myanmar, peace and stability measures in the border region” with China’s Deng Xijun in the capital Naypyidaw on Thursday, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.
The senior general “explained the implementation of objectives and a five-point roadmap in order to ensure peace, stability,” the state-run newspaper said.
AFP has contacted China’s embassy in Yangon for comment.
China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar that hold territory near its border.
Last week, an alliance of ethnic rebel groups captured the military’s northeastern command in the town of Lashio, home to about 150,000 people.
The capture of the regional command — the first by opponents of the junta since the military’s 2021 coup — has sparked rare public criticism of the top generals by its supporters.
On Monday, Min Aung Hlaing said the alliance was receiving weapons, including drones and short-range missiles, from “foreign” sources that he did not identify.
Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting, according to the junta and local rescue groups.
Myanmar’s borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.
Some have given shelter and training to newer “People’s Defense Forces” that have sprung up to battle the military after its ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in a 2021 coup.