Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing quickly returned to China’s diplomatic embrace on Tuesday, meeting with its Special Envoy for Asian Affairs two days after returning from a visit to Russia and Belarus, his other key allies.
The embattled regime leader met with Deng Xijun in Naypyitaw to discuss China’s support for the junta’s planned election, their joint crackdown on cyber scams, and border trade, according to junta media.
The meeting took place amid reports of further setbacks for junta forces across the country, including in Mandalay State and Bago Region.
On Monday, Deng held talks with junta Foreign Minister Than Swe, who had accompanied Min Aung Hlaing to Russia and Belarus. They discussed enhancing bilateral ties, stabilizing the Myanmar-China border, boosting cooperation to combat border cyber-fraud, and progress in Myanmar’s “peace and national reconciliation process,” said junta media.
During his weeklong trip abroad, the junta boss met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko, overseeing the signing of 24 memoranda of understanding on cooperation in various sectors.
In Minsk, he also revealed a long-awaited timeframe for his proposed poll, announcing it would be held in late December or early January.
Deng’s arrival in Naypyitaw just a few days later prompted speculation that Beijing is concerned about the prospect of stronger ties between the regime and Russia.
Analysts also believe that Deng was following up on the Private Security Services Law, passed by the regime last month to enable Chinese security troops to guard China’s projects in Myanmar.
Fierce battles are ongoing between regime forces and the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu, where China plans to build a special economic zone and deep-sea port. The township is also the starting point of the China-Myanmar pipelines that carry oil and gas to China’s Yunnan Province. Residents report that China security staff have arrived in Kyaukphyu.
The Kyaukphyu Deep-Sea Port and SEZ is a crucial link in China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), offering direct access to the Indian Ocean and reducing China’s reliance on the Malacca Strait for energy imports.
China is pressuring the regime to kickstart BRI projects in Myanmar, despite the ongoing civil war.
On his first post-coup visit to China in November, Min Aung Hlaing met with premier Li Qiang and vowed to prioritize the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and start work on its Muse-Mandalay-Kyaukphyu railroad “where possible.”
Under pressure from China, the junta and Thailand are also carrying out a joint crackdown on telecom scam hubs in Karen State’s Myawaddy Township on the Thai-Myanmar border.
Min Aung Hlaing and Deng are also believed to have discussed China’s intervention in northern Shan State, where Beijing is pushing ethnic rebels to halt their offensives against the junta.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army struck a ceasefire with the regime in January, but China-brokered talks between the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the regime have failed to achieve the same.
Analysts suggest Min Aung Hlaing and Deng may have also discussed steps to achieve a ceasefire between the regime and the AA in Kyaukphyu.
