Kunming talks collapse as Myanmar junta demands return of all TNLA-captured towns

China-brokered talks between Myanmar’s military junta and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) collapsed on Wednesday over the regime’s insistence on the return of almost all towns under the ethnic armed group’s control. During the talks, held in the city of Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province, the TNLA said it was willing to withdraw from Kyaukme and Hsipaw—two key towns on the main route from Mandalay to Muse on the Chinese border—but the junta rejected the offer, sources familiar with the meeting told Myanmar Now. Instead, the regime’s negotiators insisted that the TNLA relinquish every town in northern Shan State under its control except for Manton and Namhsan. Both are designated as part of the Palaung Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) under Myanmar’s 2008 military-drafted constitution. The TNLA refused, leading to the failure of the talks, sources said. “We will have to continue fighting. The junta said they will resort to force to reoccupy the two towns we offered,” said a senior TNLA official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak with the media. The TNLA took full control of the Palaung SAZ in December 2023 as part of Operation 1027, an offensive launched in October of that year. It later went on to capture Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, and Hsipaw—all located along the Mandalay-Muse trade route. The group’s ally, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, later seized Lashio, northern Shan State’s largest city, on the same road. Last month, the TNLA lost control of Nawnghkio after months of fierce fighting, after the regime intensified its counteroffensive in northern Shan State following its reoccupation of Lashio in April under a Chinese-brokered agreement. The TNLA has captured a dozen towns since the start of Operation 1027. In the initial phase of the offensive, it seized Kutkai, Namtu, Namkham, Namhsan, Manton, Mongngawt, and Monglon. Following the collapse in June 2024 of a ceasefire backed by China, it went on to take Mongmit, Kyaukme, Nawnghkio, Hsipaw, and the ruby-mining centre of Mogok in Mandalay Region. Despite suffering a long string of defeats in 2023 and 2024, the regime has been regaining ground since early this year, largely due to Chinese pressure on anti-junta groups to end their hostilities. China has also pushed the United Wa State Army, the most powerful ethnic armed group in Shan State, to end its support for junta opponents. The group announced last week that it would no longer provide arms or aid to any other group from now on. In addition to Chinese pressure on ethnic armies, the regime has also benefited in recent months from fresh manpower from conscription and increased use of less conventional weapons such as drones. Meanwhile, resistance groups have been overstretched, short on ammunition, and weakened by internal divisions, allowing the military to retake key towns and supply routes.

Kunming talks collapse as Myanmar junta demands return of all TNLA-captured towns

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