BEIJING: A senior Chinese diplomat has issued a call for Myanmar to “cooperate” in upholding stability along their shared border, Beijing said on Monday after armed groups fighting the junta seized a strategic trading outpost.
Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong visited Myanmar from Friday to Sunday, Beijing said, holding discussions with senior junta officials on clashes the UN said have forced 23,000 people from their homes.
“Myanmar is called on to cooperate with China in maintaining stability along the China-Myanmar border,” said Nong, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry.
Nong met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Than Shwe and Deputy Foreign Minister Lwin Oo during his visit, according to Beijing.
China has pressed the junta to earnestly ensure the safety of Chinese border area residents and to take effective measures to bolster the security of Chinese personnel, establishments, and projects in Myanmar.
Recent attacks launched by an alliance of ethnic minority groups in Myanmar’s northeast Shan state are perceived as the most significant military challenge faced by the junta since it assumed power in 2021, as noted by analysts.
China recently 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.
Junta announced that the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group based in the neighbouring Kachin state, had joined the attacks on its forces and pledged to retaliate. Local media reports indicated that the junta had shelled the remote town of Laiza, located on the Chinese border and serving as the headquarters of the KIA.
