Myanmar junta chief proposes Shan State peace talks in meeting with Chinese premier

The leader of Myanmar’s coup regime, Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, raised the possibility of peace talks with the Brotherhood Alliance during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday, according to junta-controlled state media. The meeting, held on the sidelines of a regional summit in the Chinese city of Kunming, covered a range of bilateral issues, including economic cooperation, but soon turned to the conflict along the two countries’ shared border in northern Shan State. China has expressed growing concern about the situation in the border region since the three ethnic armed groups comprising the Brotherhood Alliance launched their Operation 1027 offensive in October of last year, capturing a number of key towns, including the main city of Lashio. At the meeting on Wednesday, Min Aung Hlaing told Li he was ready to hold talks with the alliance’s members, but said they would first have to demonstrate their desire for peace. While he did not specify what actions he wanted to see from the groups, they would likely involve withdrawing from towns, villages, and military camps seized since the start of the offensive. The regime has been unable to retake any of the territory it has lost over the past year, but it continues to pound alliance-held towns with relentless airstrikes to prevent the groups from consolidating their control. Meanwhile, China has also increased pressure on alliance members by restricting the flow of goods across the border—something Min Aung Hlaing has asked China to continue doing during his visit. China brokered a ceasefire agreement between the two sides in January, but fighting resumed in June amid growing tensions and mutual accusations of violations of the deal. In September, the regime designated the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Arakan Army—the three members of the Brotherhood Alliance—“terrorist” organisations.The junta chief’s visit to Kunming to attend the Greater Mekong Subregion Summit is his first trip to China since seizing power in a coup in February 2021.

Myanmar junta chief proposes Shan State peace talks in meeting with Chinese premier

Min Aung Hlaing says the three members of the Brotherhood Alliance would have to demonstrate their desire for peace before talks could begin

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