Representatives from Myanmar’s military junta and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) from northern Shan State began talks in China on Sunday.
“The talks are continuing today, and we will release a statement when they are finished,” Major General Tar Bhone Kyaw, the TNLA secretary general, told The Irrawaddy. “At this moment, we can’t say anything else.”
The nine-member TNLA delegation is led by Lieutenant General Tar Gu Jar and Colonel Tar Moe Hein, while the junta’s delegation is led by Lieutenant General Ko Ko Oo, commander of the Bureau of Special Operation (BSO) 1.
The TNLA is a member of the Brotherhood Alliance along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and Arakan Army (AA). Their Operation 1027 has liberated much of northern Shan State, capturing some 25 towns and the capital Lashio.
A TNLA official said the group went to the talks in Kunming to resolve the crisis facing people in TNLA-controlled areas, adding that they “could not resist” pressure from junta-allied China.
The TNLA controls about a dozen towns including Mongmit, Mogok, Nawnghkio and Kyaukme, which are frequently targeted by junta air and artillery strikes.
Lt-Gen Ko Ko Oo, the BSO-1 commander, was also a key representative of the junta at China-brokered talks with the MNDAA in Kunming in December 2023, which resulted in a ceasefire agreement that has not held.
Following a fresh China-brokered ceasefire agreement on Jan. 20, the MNDAA, also a member of the Brotherhood Alliance, pledged to uphold China’s policy of “promoting peace and dialogue” in Myanmar.
Conflict analysts say the junta could again negotiate from a position of strength with the TNLA, as it did with the MNDAA, focusing on military matters without addressing political and peace issues.
On Saturday, just as TNLA representatives departed for Kunming, the junta fired over 100 bombs and artillery shells into five villages in Nawnghkio.
The villages were attacked despite the absence of any ground clashes. Earlier the military had conducted repeated airstrikes in TNLA-controlled areas and killed dozens of people.
Under pressure from China, the ethnic armed group announced in late November it was ready to engage in peace talks with the junta, expressing concern that civilians were bearing the brunt of the armed conflict in northern Shan State.
The TNLA also acknowledged the Chinese government’s “mediation efforts.”
