A major ethnic rebel group in Myanmar announced Wednesday it signed a cease-fire with the military following China-mediated talks, easing months of intense fighting in the country’s northeast near the Chinese border.
The ceasefire with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, marks a significant victory for Myanmar’s military government, which has regained territories ahead of elections scheduled to start Dec. 28. Critics see the polls, which exclude the main opposition parties, as an attempt to legitimize and maintain the military’s rule.
The ceasefire was signed during talks mediated by China on Monday and Tuesday in Kunming, a Chinese provincial capital about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the border with Myanmar, the TNLA said in a statement Wednesday on the Telegram messaging platform.
Beijing has major geopolitical and economic interests in Myanmar and is deeply concerned about instability along its borders. China is also the most important foreign ally of Myanmar’s military, which took power after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The takeover led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into civil war.
The ceasefire announcement came after the rebels gave up control of Nawnghkio, Kyaukme and Hsipaw, three strategic towns on a major highway linking central Myanmar to China, back to the army in a fierce military offensive. The TNLA statement said the cease-fire began Wednesday.
The rebels said they would withdraw troops from Mogok, the ruby-mining center in the upper Mandalay region and the neighboring town of Momeik in northern part of Shan state as part of the agreement, though no timeline was provided.
The two towns had been under the control of the TNLA, which represents the Ta’ang ethnic minority, since July last year.
In return, the military agreed to stop its ground offensives and airstrikes on the group’s remaining territories, the TNLA said. The rebels have no effective defense against airstrikes.
Posted by John3262005
2 Comments
Great of you to post this!
I was going to do some big background write-up but eh, unless someone wants it then I won’t. I think at the end of the day, the TNLA didn’t realize that having a few friends that drive drones over the border and party secretary contacts in the county-level towns of Yunnan Province meant jack-shit. Once the MNDAA chief was arrested by China, they should’ve realized they were going to lose all that territory gained in Operation 1027. China only cared about letting Wa State supply their arms insomuch as they could negotiate area concessions with the junta and get the MNDAA to arrest and send them a bunch of drug dealers from Shan State. The TNLA just is not a powerhouse like it might think it is.
They also aren’t really loved by other ethnic groups in the territory they run. A lot of ’em get away with forced consciption under the guise of the sort of “Well we’re kin by blood, you gotta help us.” The TNLA force-conscripts other ethnic groups because their own isn’t large enough and they aren’t really interested in any sort of serious notion of reinstating a civilian government or some federalized entity; the political organ they represent is barely functionable.
Now that the TNLA is withdrawing, all that’s left are the PDFs to defend Mogok. And unfortunately, the Tatmadaw will engage in wanton r**e, murder and torture to take it back. It’s not going to be good at all.
Unfortunately the momentum of the war seems to be swinging back in the junta’s favor, in no small part due to China’s pressure campaign on the rebels.