Myanmar or Burma

China has closed its border crossing with Pangwa in northern Myanmar after the ethnic Kachin Independence Army (KIA) reportedly seized control of the border town.

The KIA and its allies last week seized the headquarters of junta-aligned Border Guard Force Battalion 1002 in Lu Pyi village, about 10 km from Pangwa, which is a rare-earth mining hub.

The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), and allied resistance groups captured the hilltop artillery base on Thursday after a four-month siege, the resistance groups told the media.

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is providing protection for a scam centre that recently set up in a remote area of Tangyan Township, shortly after UWSA troops moved into the township.

On October 14, the Arakan Army (AA) declared in a statement that it had successfully rescued sixteen Bangladeshi people who had been left behind in the Bay of Bengal. After being rescued by the Arakan People's Revolutionary Government's Coast Guard, they were turned over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

China is preparing to welcome Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in the near future, a move that could be seen not only as a major policy shift on the part of Beijing toward the regime, but also as giving some much-desired legitimacy to the junta, which is reeling from a nationwide armed resistance movement.

The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) has seized Hsipaw Township in northern Shan State after defeating the last Myanmar junta battalion headquarters outside the town, despite Chinese demands to stop fighting the regime.

The military regime is organizing three columns of troops in Mongyai, Namlan and Tangyan towns respectively to retake Lashio, the capital of northern Shan State near the Chinese border, according to sources.

Nobody actually doubt that China is bent on betting for the longevity of the Myanmar military junta or military council, also known also as State Administration Council (SAC), ever since its military coup in February 2021. But its public posturing to prop up the junta comes out just recently and openly for all to see, as China now seems to be in a hurry to end the conflict stalemate in Myanmar, preferably to its national interest and advantage.

The leaked UWSA-China meeting report

During the first week of October a document concerning the United Wa State Army (UWSA)-China meeting report was deliberately leaked, in which China sort of spelled out its political position and policy line on Myanmar’s ongoing conflict.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) – allegedly under Chinese pressure – has banned its members from joining international attempts to address Myanmar’s crises.

The armed group said on Wednesday that its personnel were banned from speaking to western governments or the international media.