TNLA, Myanmar junta hold talks in Naypyitaw amid China-backed peace efforts

Representatives of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar’s military junta held their latest round of talks in Naypyitaw over the weekend, as China continues to press armed groups based along its border toward ceasefire negotiations with the regime. According to TNLA spokesperson Lway Yay Oo, the ethnic armed group’s delegation was led by Vice Chair Lt.-Gen. Tar Jok Jar. “Today, our team led by leader Tar Jok Jar met with the military council in Naypyitaw,” she told Myanmar Now on Sunday, adding that the topics of discussion were not yet known. “We will only know what was discussed and agreed upon once these delegates return,” she said, adding that it remains unclear how many days the talks will continue. Lway Yay Oo described the meeting as part of an ongoing series of contacts rather than a new initiative. “It is like a regular meeting,” she said. “We had one in May, when we scheduled another one for July. You can say this is a regular meeting.” Relations between the TNLA and the regime have been relatively cordial in recent months. On April 15, the group sent a letter to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing congratulating him on the formation of a government under his self-appointed presidency and expressing its commitment to a ceasefire signed on October 28, 2025, under the China-mediated Haigeng Agreement. The group said it hoped to uphold the ceasefire with the Myanmar military and resolve political differences through dialogue. During his first cabinet meeting on April 20, Min Aung Hlaing invited both signatories and non-signatories to the pre-coup Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) to participate in peace talks by July 31. The junta has since held meetings with several armed groups based along the China-Myanmar border, including the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), and the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army, as well as other organisations that signed the NCA. The talks come nearly three years after the TNLA and fellow Brotherhood Alliance members launched Operation 1027, a major anti-junta offensive, on October 27, 2023. The campaign resulted in heavy losses for the regime, including the capture of its Northeastern Regional Military Command headquarters in Lashio. During the offensive, the TNLA captured 12 towns in northern Shan State, while the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army took 10 and the Arakan Army expanded its territorial control over most of Rakhine State. China later pushed the groups to end their offensive, initially convening its member groups together in Kunming before shifting to separate meetings with individual organisations in an effort to secure ceasefires. According to reports, Beijing has encouraged the TNLA and other ethnic armed organisations based along its border, including the UWSA, the NDAA, and the Kachin Independence Army, to participate in the junta’s peace process. The TNLA’s military position has weakened since late 2024. During 2025, it lost control of Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Momeik, and Mogok to junta forces. In March, its ally, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, took control of Kutkai. The losses reduced the TNLA’s territorial holdings from 12 towns to six. It currently controls Namtu, Namkham, Namhsan, Mantong, Mongngawt, and Monglon.

TNLA, Myanmar junta hold talks in Naypyitaw amid China-backed peace efforts

The meeting comes as China continues to push groups based along its border to participate in the regime’s peace process

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