Opinion | While Trump boasts about ending wars, China quietly works towards peace

China’s handling of Myanmar’s border incursions and efforts towards the Cambodia-Thai ceasefire stand in stark contrast to the US approach

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Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa meet in Anning in China’s Yunnan province, on the sidelines of the 10th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on August 14. Photo: AFP/Royal Thai government

Published: 5:30am, 6 Nov 2025

With US President Donald Trump’s unabashed claim of ending eight wars in eight months hogging the limelight, China’s handling of both intrusions along its border with Myanmar and the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute has gone relatively unnoticed.

In stark contrast to America’s dramatic and forceful brokering of peace deals, Beijing has adopted a calibrated and generally reactive response to Myanmar’s border intrusions and supports Asean taking the lead on the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute resolution.

The Myanmar military has intruded into China on a number of occasions. In August 2009, an artillery shell landed in Yunnan, killing one Chinese and injuring several others; another in January 2013 caused neither death nor injury. A more serious intrusion occurred in March 2015 when a bomb discharged from a Myanmar aircraft killed five Chinese and injured eight others.

Adopting a calibrated and largely restrained approach, Beijing expressed concern over the August 2009 and January 2013 incidents but did not overreact. It urged the parties involved to exercise restraint, resolve their differences through talks and maintain peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border.

Unsurprisingly, Beijing took a firmer stance on the more serious 2015 intrusion. It swiftly dispatched fighter jets to patrol the border and step up protection of Chinese air space. Fan Changlong, then vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, called on Myanmar to recognise the seriousness of the issue, punish the perpetrators, apologise to and compensate the victims’ families, and provide an explanation to China.

Tensions dialled down significantly after Wunna Maung Lwin, then Myanmar’s foreign minister, visited Beijing in April that year to formally apologise, pledging to follow up with compensation to the affected Chinese families. He was accompanied by lieutenant general Aung Than Htut, then commander of the Bureau of Special Operations in the office of the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar army.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}China’s handling of Myanmar’s border incursions and efforts towards the Cambodia-Thai ceasefire stand in stark contrast to the US approach

China’s handling of Myanmar’s border incursions and efforts towards the Cambodia-Thai ceasefire stand in stark contrast to the US approach