As his air force escalates strikes on civilian areas under resistance control, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing told Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday that his regime was merely responding to attacks by rebel groups.
On his first visit to China since the 2021 coup, the junta leader met with Li in Kunming and maintained the blame-game tactics he has used for the past three years.
Min Aung Hlaing claimed the Brotherhood Alliance of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army turned down his proposal for peace talks.
The alliance and allied groups have seized most of northern Shan State bordering China in their yearlong Operation 1027 offensive. The junta, unable to mobilize ground troops to retake the lost territory, has resorted to relentless airstrikes against civilian targets in the liberated areas.
Min Aung Hlaing also accused the MNDAA of breaching last January’s ceasefire brokered by China by seizing more towns and villages. The MNDAA dealt the junta its worst military defeat of the uprising in August by capturing the North Eastern Command.
The junta boss told Li that the Brotherhood Alliance must express its desire for peace before talks could begin, urging further Chinese intervention to pressure the alliance into halting hostilities against his regime.
Li, ignoring the junta’s escalating war crimes against civilians, expressed his appreciation for the Myanmar government’s efforts to promote “peaceful dialogue to solve armed conflicts by political means rather than violence.”
“Stability in northern Myanmar is crucial, and China reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Myanmar and strongly opposes any actions that harm the interests of Myanmar,” Li was quoted as saying by junta media.
Min Aung Hlaing said border stability was vital to promote trade and investment, referring to fresh fighting on the border of northern Shan and Kachin State.
The regime is well aware that China wants cross-border trade restored and its mega investments in Myanmar protected. The junta chief also called for measures to combat illegal businesses and trade at the northern Shan-China border, claiming they were funding local armed groups.
China has threatened action if the Brotherhood Alliance refuses to stop fighting the regime. It has also closed border crossings to territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Army and the United Wa State Army in Kachin and northern Shan State.
The MNDAA, which controls Lashio, the northern Shan state capital where it defeated the North Eastern Command, responded to Chinese pressure in September by pledging not to cooperate politically or militarily with the parallel civilian National Unity Government.
China renewed its support for Myanmar’s military regime following Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Naypyitaw in August. Following the trip, the junta intensified its indiscriminate bombing campaign against resistance-held territories.
Following its failed attempts to pressure ethnic armed groups to lay down their arms, Beijing invited Min Aung Hlaing on his first visit to China since the coup for talks on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor and Muse-Mandalay-Kyukphyu railroad projects.
“China stands ready to work with Myanmar to steadily advance construction of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor within the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation,” Li was quoted as saying by Chinese government mouthpiece Xinhua.
The corridor linking Kunming with Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu through Mandalay in central Myanmar is designed to provide maritime access for China’s landlocked Yunnan province, linking with the Bay of Bengal and strengthening China’s presence in the Indian Ocean.
Min Aung Hlaing, who is desperate for Beijing’s backing, vowed to launch construction of the Muse-Mandalay-Kyaukphyu railroad in secure areas, adding that Myanmar also attached great importance to the economic corridor project.
However, both mega-projects run through territory controlled by ethnic armed groups and their resistance allies. The MNDAA and TNLA occupy much of northern Shan State, while anti-regime groups have made inroads in central Myanmar, including Mandalay and Magwe regions. The Arakan Army has seized most of Rakhine State but has yet to launch an offensive in Kyaukphyu, home to Chinese projects.
Junta media reported that Li also pledged to assist the regime with its poll plan. The Chinese premier and Min Aung Hlaing signed seven memoranda of understanding and agreements, covering are including cooperation in agriculture and sports.
On Tuesday, the junta boss met with Chinese business leaders in Kunming, offering tax incentives for investments in Myanmar’s electricity, fertilizer, steel, livestock, timber, cement and transportation industries. He added that they could invest in yuan rather than dollars.
He also told Chinese investors that border rebel groups once infamous as drug and smuggling outfits were now attempting to revive the warlord era in the name of democracy and ethnic equality. He warned them not to resurrect “the dead tiger.”
