By AFP
A second major Myanmar ethnic armed group has said it is ready for China-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border.
The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, with about 8,000 available fighters, has fought the Myanmar military for over a decade for autonomy for the Kokang ethnic minority in northern Shan State.
Last year, the Three Bortherhood Alliance, of which the MNDAA is a member, launched an offensive against the military and seized swathes of Shan and Mandalay Region, including ruby mines and a lucrative trade highway to China.
The military has repeatedly pounded territory it has lost with artillery and airstrikes, but a promised counter-offensive on the ground has yet to materialise.
Last week, Brotherhood member the Ta’ang National Liberation Army said it was ready for talks with the military.
“From today onwards we will cease fire immediately, and will not actively attack the Myanmar army,” the MNDAA said in a statement released yesterday.
“Under the mediation of China, we are willing to engage in peace talks with the Myanmar army on issues such as Lashio,” it said, referring to the town in northern Shan which hosted the North Eastern Commanda and was captured by the group in August in a huge blow to the junta.
The MNDAA was “willing to send a high-level delegation to engage in dialogue and consult with the Myanmar military and resolve conflicts and differences through political means,” it said.
The junta has not publicly responded to the TNLA offer, and local media has reported that airstrikes have continued on TNLA-held territory since.
The junta has been approached for comment on the MNDAA statement.
China is a major ally and arms supplier of the junta, but also maintains ties with ethnic armed groups that hold territory near its border.
It has repeatedly called for fighting to stop in Shan, a key link in its trillion-dollar Belt and Road initiative.
Earlier this month, Beijing said the head of the MNDAA had come to China for “medical care” after news reports in Myanmar said he had been arrested on China’s orders.
Myanmar is home to about a dozen ethnic armed groups that have battled the military for decades for autonomy and control of lucrative resources including jade, timber and opium.
Some, including the TNLA, have given shelter and training to newer People’s Defence Forces that sprang up to battle the military after it seized power in a 2021 coup.
