
Ceasefire in effect on China-Myanmar border
Last Updated on January 21, 2025 6:05 am
Myanmar’s military and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a rebel group in Shan State, have signed a formal ceasefire agreement near the border between China and Myanmar. The agreement took effect on Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry said.
The two sides held talks in Kunming, a city in southwestern China’s Shan State, where they thanked Beijing for its efforts to establish peace, ministry spokesman Mao Ning told a regular news briefing. Reuters.
Mao said it was in the common interest of all parties in Myanmar and all countries in the region to de-escalate the situation in northern Myanmar and contribute to the security, stability and development of the border areas between China and Myanmar.
China will continue to provide assistance and support to the peace process in northern Myanmar and actively promote peace and dialogue, Mao said. Reuters reported that the MNDAA is one of several ethnic armed groups in Myanmar fighting to oust the military from areas they consider their own. The MNDAA is part of the so-called “Three Brotherhood Alliance.” The other two members of this rebel alliance are the Arakan Army (AA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The alliance has seized control of large areas near the border with China since launching a joint offensive against Myanmar’s ruling junta in October 2023. The MNDAA, made up of ethnic Chinese in Myanmar, said in July that it had seized a Myanmar military headquarters near the Chinese border.
Analysts say Myanmar’s anti-junta forces are pushing the military out of key border areas and advancing towards the central city of Mandalay. Their advances have alarmed China. Myanmar has been in a deep crisis since the country’s military overthrew its civilian government and seized power in February 2021. Myanmar shares a 2,000-kilometer border with China. China is concerned about the possibility of chaos along this border. This chaos could put investment and trade at risk. They are worried about such fears. Earlier, a ceasefire agreement was reached in Myanmar’s northern border areas under Chinese mediation. But that ceasefire agreement collapsed after a few months.