China has recently dispatched a team to Myanmar to oversee a ceasefire it helped broker between the ruling military and a key rebel group, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday, highlighting Beijing’s increasing engagement in the escalating civil conflict.
Myanmar has been mired in chaos since 2021, when the military ousted an elected civilian government, igniting a nationwide protest movement that has since transformed into an armed rebellion.
Last year, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a group largely composed of ethnic Chinese fighters, captured a major military base in Lashio, near the Chinese border. This marked part of a wider rebel campaign that has seen government forces lose significant ground.
Following negotiations in January in Kunming, China, between the junta and the MNDAA, a formal ceasefire agreement was reached, according to Beijing.
In recent days, reports from Myanmar media noted the return of some junta officials to Lashio, along with sightings of military vehicles in the city on Tuesday.
“The two parties appreciate and thank China for its constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability in northern Myanmar,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun at a routine press briefing.
“Looking ahead, China will continue to advance the Kunming peace process,” he added.
The MNDAA is a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups that launched a significant offensive in October 2023. Their campaign has seized large swathes of territory near the Chinese border, weakening the military’s control.
This ceasefire, mediated by China, is distinct from a broader peace effort led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has been pushing for a truce to facilitate greater humanitarian aid in the wake of a powerful earthquake last month that claimed over 3,700 lives in Myanmar.
