A high-ranking Chinese diplomat has called on Myanmar to collaborate in preserving stability along their shared border. This statement came from Beijing on Monday, following the seizure of a strategically important trading post by armed groups opposing the junta.
Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong visited Myanmar over the weekend, engaging in discussions with senior junta officials regarding the conflicts that, according to the UN, have displaced 23,000 individuals from their homes.
According to a statement from China’s foreign ministry, Nong emphasized, “Myanmar is called upon to work together with China in upholding stability along the China-Myanmar border.”
During his visit, Nong met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Than Shwe, as well as Deputy Foreign Minister Lwin Oo, as reported by Beijing.
China also stressed the junta’s responsibility to “sincerely guarantee the safety of Chinese border area residents and to implement effective measures to enhance the security of Chinese personnel, institutions, and projects in Myanmar.”
Analysts have noted that the recent attacks, launched by an alliance of Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups in the northeastern Shan state, represent the most significant military challenge faced by the junta since it seized power in 2021.
Last week, China called for an immediate ceasefire in the region, where a billion-dollar rail route, a part of Beijing’s global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, is planned.
On Saturday, the junta announced that the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group based in the neighboring Kachin state, had joined the attacks on its forces and vowed to retaliate.
Local media reported that the junta had shelled the remote town of Laiza on the Chinese border, which serves as the headquarters of the KIA.