Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday that Beijing would not accept comments intended to harm bilateral ties or “smear” China, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar after the two met in Naypyitaw.
“China opposes any remarks that attempt to sow discord in China-Myanmar relations or smear and vilify China,” Wang said at the meeting, according to the embassy. The meeting followed a recent televised address by Min Aung Hlaing in which he lamented foreign intervention in the fighting in northern Shan State near the Chinese border, without naming a particular country.
Wang visited Myanmar on Wednesday before traveling to Thailand to co-chair the ninth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
China’s top diplomat did not bother to meet the junta boss when he attended the 7th edition of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bagan, Mandalay Region in 2022.
Beijing apparently thought it should deliver an in-person warning to the junta boss after Min Aung Hlaing repeatedly implied that China is behind the anti-regime military operations in northern Shan State.
In November last year, after the Brotherhood Alliance of three ethnic armies launched a major offensive against the regime in northern Shan State, Min Aung Hlaing alleged anti-regime groups were using China-made drones to bomb junta positions there, and said foreign technicians were assisting the groups.
Following that outburst, junta-backed nationalists staged anti-Beijing protests in downtown Yangon and outside the Chinese Embassy in the city.
After the Myanmar military’s Northeastern Command fell to ethnic and resistance forces earlier this month during the second phase of the offensive, the junta boss claimed in the televised speech that certain foreign countries were funding the anti-regime armed groups, though he did not name China specifically.
He claimed ordnance factories built in territory controlled by ethnic armed organizations on the China-Myanmar border were selling weapons to anti-regime groups, and alleged that weapons seized from People’s Defense Force resistance groups had been traced to those factories.
Certain foreign countries were supplying anti-regime groups with food, pharmaceuticals, arms, technology and administrative aid to prolong conflicts in Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing said in the speech.
Military sympathizers then organized rallies against the Brotherhood Alliance. The protesters saluted Myanmar’s flag, raised banners reading “Victory in the just war”, and sang the national anthem and patriotic songs as they attempted to portray the war in northern Myanmar as a foreign invasion.
Pro-junta Telegram channels have also alleged that Chinese mercenaries are involved in the fighting.
Chinese special envoy to Myanmar Deng Xijun met with Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw on the heels of those protests.
During the meeting with Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday, Wang said “China firmly supports Myanmar in maintaining its independence, sovereignty, national unity, and territorial integrity,” according to the Chinese Embassy.
It said Wang also expressed China’s support for what he characterized as the junta’s efforts to restore peace and stability in Myanmar and restore the democratic transition process.
In their coverage of the meeting, junta-controlled media claimed Wang stressed China’s opposition to attacks by ethnic armed organizations in northern Shan State. However, both Xinhua and the Chinese Embassy quoted Wang as saying simply that “China opposes chaos or conflict in Myanmar.”
The junta-controlled media also failed to report Wang’s statement that “China opposes external forces interfering in Myanmar’s internal affairs, and opposes any remarks that attempt to sow discord in China-Myanmar relations or smear and vilify China.”
They also ignored a warning delivered by Wang to the regime to ensure the effective operation of the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline project, as well as the safety of the project and its employees.
A photo of the meeting published by junta media drew mockery online, with critics pointing out that the regime boss essentially treated the Chinese foreign minister as his equal—despite recently assuming the title of acting president of Myanmar—by sitting side-by-side with Wang before the Palin (throne), the symbol of Myanmar’s sovereignty.
