Amid the junta’s daily air raids on territories seized by ethnic armies in northern Shan State, an article claiming that the ethnic Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) are partnering with the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and receiving financial aid from the US has gone viral among regime supporters on social media.
The article—whose contents have been denied by the NUG—titled “China, the True Friend of Myanmar’s People”, condemns the US while praising China and Thailand. It is typical of the commentaries featured in the junta’s newspapers, but emerged on pro-junta Telegram channels on Thursday.
The piece accuses the MNDAA and the TNLA of forging a military alliance with the NUG to fight the regime. The two ethnic armies have seized more than a dozen towns, mostly in northern Shan State, since launching a large-scale offensive late last year.
The regime has stepped up its aerial bombing of towns controlled by the two groups since Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Naypyitaw to meet junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in mid-August.
The article alleges that the NUG earns around US$200 million annually from the US, arguing that Washington is willing to spend such a large sum on the NUG not because it has interests in Myanmar, but because it wants to hurt China, which has huge investments in the country.
NUG Deputy Foreign Minister U Moe Zaw Oo told The Irrawaddy the article was part of a smear campaign by the junta against the NUG to deceive Beijing into thinking the parallel government is financially supported by the West.
“Generally speaking, it’s absolutely not true that we receive such support from the US. It’s regime propaganda that the NUG is on the US payroll, while it’s the junta that has been on an anti-China campaign in Myanmar,” he said.
The US Embassy in Yangon told The Irrawaddy on Sept. 30 that the claim that the US is providing approximately $200 million annually to the NUG is “categorically false”.
It said the US “does not fund, arm, or otherwise assist military or armed groups of any kind in Myanmar”.
“The United States provides non-lethal assistance to support the protection of civilians, promote human rights, and assist pro-democracy actors, ethnic groups, and others who seek to restore Myanmar’s path to democracy,” the embassy said.
The report praises the Chinese and Thai governments for being good neighbors, pointing out that the two governments have maintained engagement with the regime in the face of pressure from Western countries to impose sanctions on the junta. The article also calls China and Thailand the key trading partners of Myanmar among its five neighboring countries.
The article commends China for standing by the military regime as a good neighbor by putting pressure on the MNDAA and TNLA through increasingly punitive measures including closing the border.
“Myanmar people welcome and support the measures taken by their true friend, China, because they understand that China is doing so to help restore peace and stability in the country as quickly as possible,” the article says.
A TNLA Central Committee member told The Irrawaddy that the report is an attempt to drive a wedge between the TNLA and China.
After his visit to Naypyitaw in August, Wang said that for China, the bottom line regarding Myanmar had three components: “Myanmar should not be subject to civil strife, should not be detached from the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] family, and should not be allowed to be infiltrated and interfered with by external forces.”
The regime has since carried out continuous bombing raids on Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Lashio and Mantong towns controlled by the MNDAA and the TNLA.
In late August, China issued a warning to the TNLA asking the armed group to “immediately stop fighting or face consequences.”
Recently, the MNDAA, which has seized the North Eastern Command and northern Shan State’s capital of Lashio, where the command is based, issued a statement saying it would not cooperate with the NUG militarily or politically to launch offensives on Mandalay and Taunggyi, and would stop its military operations immediately and join the dialogue through Beijing’s mediation.
Editor’s Note: The story was updated on Sept. 30 to add the US Embassy’s comments.
