https://www.scmp.com/rss/314116/feed News and analysis on China-Myanmar relations. Beijing has been Naypyitaw’s closest ally for two decades and is its biggest trading partner. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Laura Zhou Laura Zhou Early in 2021, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and held talks with both General Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of the armed forces, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of the civilian government. The meeting was a chance for China to voice support for Myanmar’s “national conditions” development path and signal China’s long-term pragmatic approach to ties with its southwestern neighbour, irrespective of who was in power. That strategy, however, came under... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343830/5-years-and-1-election-later-why-chinas-myanmar-dilemma-still-isnt-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343830/5-years-and-1-election-later-why-chinas-myanmar-dilemma-still-isnt-over?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 22:00:10 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo Myanmar’s military junta is staging the country’s first general election since its coup in 2021. Western critics have dismissed it as a “sham”, while the generals have insisted that the polls are “free and fair”. Posting on X, Tom Andrews, the United Nations rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, called the election “a theatre of the absurd”. He may be right but it is also beside the point. Andrews was a long-time foreign supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose second-term government was... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3338022/why-china-myanmars-only-real-hope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3338022/why-china-myanmars-only-real-hope?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Dec 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The Myanmar junta’s recent air strikes on a hospital just days before a general election this month are aimed at securing more territory and “intimidating” voters while major powers look the other way due to their own economic and strategic interests, according to analysts. The country’s junta said last Wednesday’s air strikes on a hospital in Mrauk-U in the western state of Rakhine were part of a counterterrorism operation targeting armed groups using the facility as a base for their... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337001/myanmar-hospital-air-strikes-heighten-election-turmoil-amid-global-inaction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337001/myanmar-hospital-air-strikes-heighten-election-turmoil-amid-global-inaction?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 04:30:08 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Myanmar’s junta has grown so dependent on mainland China for political and economic support that it is highlighting issues such as Taiwan to signal “loyalty” towards Beijing and secure backing for an imminent election that the military hopes will legitimise its rule, according to analysts. This dependence was evident last month when the military-led regime condemned Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan in language closely aligned with Beijing’s talking points, reflecting... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335243/myanmars-criticism-takaichi-signals-loyalty-china-ahead-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3335243/myanmars-criticism-takaichi-signals-loyalty-china-ahead-election?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Dec 2025 02:30:10 +0000 Jared Bissinger Jared Bissinger Over the past year, China has increasingly wielded its economic leverage in Myanmar to tilt the scales towards the military’s State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC), helping it retake territory and re-exert control over the economy. China has done so by combining its economic heft and proximity to Myanmar with a policy of fostering ties with both state and non-state actors, then leveraging these to its advantage. Western countries, by contrast, have imposed sanctions yet continue to trade... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3334563/why-china-succeeding-myanmar-while-west-has-been-sidelined?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3334563/why-china-succeeding-myanmar-while-west-has-been-sidelined?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Nov 2025 05:30:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The Myanmar junta’s highly publicised crackdown on cyberfraud hubs near its borders is less a law enforcement statement than a calculated performance, analysts say, aimed at placating China and shoring up credibility ahead of an election widely seen as illegitimate. Observers said the operation reflected the military’s need to project control in the face of domestic insurgency and foreign pressure, particularly from Beijing, whose citizens have been both victims and conscripts in the sprawling... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334375/myanmars-cyberscam-crackdown-just-pre-poll-law-and-order-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334375/myanmars-cyberscam-crackdown-just-pre-poll-law-and-order-show?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 11:00:20 +0000 Bochen Han Bochen Han A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is urging Donald Trump’s administration to reject Myanmar’s “sham” elections next month, days after the administration cited the country’s electoral progress as grounds to remove legal protections for Myanmar nationals in the US. “Burma’s planned elections this December are proving to be a sham,” said Representatives Brian Mast and Gregory Meeks and Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen on Wednesday, using the former name for the war-torn country. “Orchestrated... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3334287/us-lawmakers-urge-trump-condemn-myanmars-china-backed-sham-elections-next-month?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3334287/us-lawmakers-urge-trump-condemn-myanmars-china-backed-sham-elections-next-month?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2025 20:14:04 +0000 Sylvie Zhuang Sylvie Zhuang A notorious Myanmar crime syndicate boss was sentenced to death on Tuesday by a Chinese court for his group’s industrial-scale operations that led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, according to state news agency Xinhua. The Kokang crime boss Bai Suocheng, his son Bai Yingcang and three close associates were sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong province, Xinhua reported. Another 16 defendants working for the Bai family received criminal sentences of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3331490/chinese-court-gives-death-sentence-myanmar-crime-syndicate-boss-bai-suocheng?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3331490/chinese-court-gives-death-sentence-myanmar-crime-syndicate-boss-bai-suocheng?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:00:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse One of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed opposition factions has agreed to a China-brokered withdrawal from a lucrative ruby mining hub, the group said on Wednesday. Myanmar has been mired in a civil war since the military grabbed power in a 2021 coup, with the junta fighting an array of pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic minority armed groups. The ragtag opposition initially struggled to make headway before organising a combined offensive in late 2023 that seized huge swathes of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3330795/myanmar-rebels-agree-china-brokered-pull-out-ruby-mining-town?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3330795/myanmar-rebels-agree-china-brokered-pull-out-ruby-mining-town?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:02:12 +0000 Ashfaq Zaman Ashfaq Zaman The Rohingya people have endured one of the world’s most protracted, yet least visible, humanitarian crises. Nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in what were supposed to be temporary camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar. They still have little prospect of returning to Myanmar’s Rakhine state. But at a recent conference in Dhaka, the Rohingya people were, for the first time, given a voice. Their message was clear: they do not want more aid. They need to go home. China is well placed to help... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3327042/why-china-should-lead-commission-phased-rohingya-repatriation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3327042/why-china-should-lead-commission-phased-rohingya-repatriation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Myanmar junta air strike on a rebel-occupied ruby mining hub killed 13 people on Saturday, according to a resident and a spokesperson for an armed opposition group. Civil war has consumed Myanmar since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, sparking resistance from pro-democracy guerillas who found common cause with long-active ethnic armed groups. Their scattered forces initially struggled to make headway, but a combined offensive starting in late 2023 seized swathes of territory,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3320596/13-killed-myanmar-junta-strike-rebel-occupied-ruby-mine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3320596/13-killed-myanmar-junta-strike-rebel-occupied-ruby-mine?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Aug 2025 10:53:49 +0000 Carl Zhang Carl Zhang Chinese police are investigating at least five cases of missing teenagers believed to have been caught up in scam centres, including some who have lost contact with their families after travelling to Myanmar. Police in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in central China, issued a notice on Wednesday, confirming the disappearance of an 18-year-old high school student who had travelled to a city in Yunnan, a southwestern province on the border with Myanmar. According to his parents, the student... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3318564/chinese-police-investigating-5-missing-teens-issue-further-warnings-about-telecoms-crime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3318564/chinese-police-investigating-5-missing-teens-issue-further-warnings-about-telecoms-crime?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jul 2025 08:02:49 +0000 Edith Mao Edith Mao A Chinese model from the southern province of Guangdong has been rescued from Myanmar after he was lured under the pretext of an overseas job last month, according to the Chinese embassy in Thailand. “The Chinese citizen surnamed Zhong has been rescued under the collaborative efforts of all parties,” the embassy said in a statement on Friday. “We once again warn Chinese citizens to beware of overseas ‘high-paying job’ scams. Foreign nationals need proper work permits for employment in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316960/chinese-model-lured-myanmar-scam-job-rescued-after-sister-raises-alarm-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316960/chinese-model-lured-myanmar-scam-job-rescued-after-sister-raises-alarm-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Jul 2025 08:42:16 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow A rare meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Myanmar’s junta leader has signalled Beijing’s growing support for a military regime widely viewed as faltering and its strategic alignment with Russia in backing the embattled government, according to analysts. Xi and junta chief Min Aung Hlaing met in Moscow on May 9 on the sidelines of Russia’s Victory Day celebrations. According to Xinhua, this meeting marked the highest-level contact between Beijing and the isolated junta since the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3310528/xi-jinpings-meeting-myanmars-junta-leader-moscow-signals-chinas-backing-regime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3310528/xi-jinpings-meeting-myanmars-junta-leader-moscow-signals-chinas-backing-regime?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 03:00:13 +0000 The bilateral relationship between China and India, described in rich imagery as the “dragon-elephant tango” by President Xi Jinping, came into focus when leaders from the two nations exchanged greetings on April 1 for the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. Currently both Asian giants are trying to arrive at a modus vivendi over a long festering territorial dispute that in 2020 erupted into a deadly clash in the Galwan region of Ladakh in the high Himalayas. Xi noted that both... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3305503/void-left-us-aid-cuts-could-be-vital-test-china-india-detente?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3305503/void-left-us-aid-cuts-could-be-vital-test-china-india-detente?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 12:30:09 +0000 Myanmar’s deadly earthquake has exposed the vacuum left by the United States’ retreat from foreign aid, prompting calls for Asean to assert leadership before major powers like China shape the humanitarian response to their advantage. More than 3,000 people were killed by the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, flattening buildings and overwhelming local responders. In a rare move, Myanmar’s military-led junta government, known as the State Administration Council, appealed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305293/myanmar-earthquake-can-asean-step-fill-us-aid-vacuum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305293/myanmar-earthquake-can-asean-step-fill-us-aid-vacuum?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:31 +0000 In the heartbreak of disaster, Myanmar’s hated junta has been handed a lifeline. As stunned, bloodied survivors sift through the rubble of the country’s deadliest earthquake in decades, bracing for even darker days ahead, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is seizing the opportunity – to secure his grip on power and manoeuvre back into the diplomatic fold. Shunned internationally in the wake of his 2021 coup, the general was even ostracised by the typically taciturn Association of Southeast Asian... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305276/myanmar-heartless-junta-deepens-earthquake-despair-collective-punishment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305276/myanmar-heartless-junta-deepens-earthquake-despair-collective-punishment?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Apr 2025 00:00:09 +0000 The scope of the humanitarian crisis triggered by the strongest earthquake to strike Myanmar in more than a century is still unfolding. The death toll from Friday’s 7.7 temblor has climbed to more than 3,000, as rescuers work tirelessly to free those trapped in the rubble. Another 4,000 are injured and at least 300 missing. The people of Myanmar, Asia’s poorest nation, are in desperate need of help. The quake struck at lunchtime, toppling homes, businesses and temples in Mandalay near the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3304965/rescue-heroes-brave-dangers-all-fronts-myanmar-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3304965/rescue-heroes-brave-dangers-all-fronts-myanmar-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Apr 2025 16:53:45 +0000 China has urged Myanmar to ensure the safety of its rescue personnel after the Southeast Asian country’s military fired warning shots at a Chinese aid convoy during earthquake relief efforts. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its personnel and supplies were “all safe” after Myanmar’s military fired warning shots at a nine-vehicle Red Cross Society of China convoy on Tuesday. Myanmar’s junta has accused the relief team of entering a conflict zone without prior approval. “In the face of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304947/china-urges-myanmar-protect-rescuers-after-military-fires-shots-aid-convoy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304947/china-urges-myanmar-protect-rescuers-after-military-fires-shots-aid-convoy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:21:00 +0000 Aid is pouring into Myanmar following the powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that devastated the country on Friday, resulting in at least 1,700 deaths and thousands more people injured. However, it is widely believed the final toll will be much higher because of poor communications networks and the fragmentation of the country that has resulted from years of civil war. Many roads and bridges have also collapsed, making it hard for equipment and rescuers to arrive. Many people have reportedly had... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304756/china-leads-relief-quake-hit-myanmar-will-civil-war-stymie-aid-efforts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3304756/china-leads-relief-quake-hit-myanmar-will-civil-war-stymie-aid-efforts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Apr 2025 09:09:04 +0000 Olga Wong Olga Wong The last of the six Hongkongers rescued from a scam farm in Myanmar this week has returned to the city, with the Security Bureau pledging to save the three remaining residents on its case list as soon as possible. Authorities said the sixth member of the group arrived home on Saturday morning. The person had stayed in Thailand to help the country’s police with investigations into the trafficking of scam victims to Myanmar to engage in forced labour. “A member of the Security Bureau’s dedicated... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3301599/last-6-hongkongers-recently-freed-scam-farm-myanmar-returns-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3301599/last-6-hongkongers-recently-freed-scam-farm-myanmar-returns-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Mar 2025 02:33:13 +0000 A Chinese court has begun hearing charges against 23 members of a notorious Myanmar-based telecoms fraud gang accused of a range of crimes. The suspects are associated with the Ming family gang and were charged with 11 crimes – including telecoms fraud, murder, intentional injury, illegal detention, extortion, running a gambling den, organising prostitution and drug trafficking – state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday. According to CCTV, prosecutors in Wenzhou in China’s eastern Zhejiang... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3299335/23-myanmar-gang-appear-chinese-court-accused-scams-drugs-extortion-murder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3299335/23-myanmar-gang-appear-chinese-court-accused-scams-drugs-extortion-murder?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Feb 2025 13:00:20 +0000 The recent kidnapping of a Chinese actor on the Thailand-Myanmar border has turned the spotlight on the international criminal gangs responsible for luring Chinese citizens abroad and forcing them to take part in telecoms scams. Wang Xing was duped into flying to Thailand by a bogus casting agent on the pretext of taking part in a film shoot. He was then taken to the border town of Mae Sot, where he was abducted and taken into Myanmar and then imprisoned in various compounds run by fraud... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3296308/why-thailand-myanmar-border-became-hub-fraud-gangs-preying-chinese-nationals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3296308/why-thailand-myanmar-border-became-hub-fraud-gangs-preying-chinese-nationals?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:00:08 +0000 Jess Ma Jess Ma A Hongkonger who has been stuck in Thailand after being released from a scam farm in Myanmar will fly home on Monday, before Lunar New Year. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Saturday that members of his bureau’s task force had met the 29-year-old man the night before. “When my colleague called me last night, I could feel how touched my colleague was. [The task force] could finally see that person after so long, they almost hugged each other in tears,” Tang said. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3296248/hongkonger-stuck-thailand-fly-home-monday-after-scam-farm-ordeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3296248/hongkonger-stuck-thailand-fly-home-monday-after-scam-farm-ordeal?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 03:15:17 +0000 For Myanmar’s people, year four under military junta rule has only brought more death, displacement and despair, as their troubled homeland is torn further apart by a seemingly intractable civil war. In capital Naypyidaw, the military – or Tatmadaw – calls all the shots, but after a series of chastening battlefield defeats, the generals increasingly find themselves boxed-in to the country’s central heartlands. Still, few among the anti-junta resistance forces harbour any illusions about an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296205/asias-forgotten-war-generation-sacrifices-its-youth-defying-myanmars-brutal-junta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3296205/asias-forgotten-war-generation-sacrifices-its-youth-defying-myanmars-brutal-junta?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:16 +0000 Authorities in Thailand have assured Hongkongers that the country remains a safe destination following a spate of human-trafficking cases linked to notorious scam farms along its border with Myanmar. The Thai consulate in Hong Kong on Wednesday also pledged to cooperate with the Hong Kong government and private bodies to address concerns and coordinate with agencies in the country to follow up on any requests. In a statement on Wednesday, the consulate expressed its deep regret that many people... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3295862/thailand-assures-hongkongers-over-safety-amid-forced-labour-scams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3295862/thailand-assures-hongkongers-over-safety-amid-forced-labour-scams?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2025 14:45:36 +0000 Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Tuesday it had deported to China more than 50,000 people suspected of involvement in online scam operations since October 2023, as it made a rare call to neighbouring countries to intervene. Scam compounds have mushroomed in Myanmar’s borderlands and are staffed by foreigners who are often trafficked and forced to work, swindling their compatriots in an industry analysts say is worth billions of dollars. An editorial published in the state-run Global New Light of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3295675/myanmar-deports-over-50000-scam-centre-workers-china-amid-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3295675/myanmar-deports-over-50000-scam-centre-workers-china-amid-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2025 11:19:07 +0000 Chinese and Thai police have worked together to detain 12 members of a crime ring accused of kidnapping six victims in Thailand and trafficking them to Myanmar as part of an employment and telecoms scam, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday. The report came a day after Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to crack down on cross-border telecoms fraud. The victims in the case include Wang Xing, a Chinese actor who earlier this month... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3295193/china-and-thailand-detain-12-crime-ring-members-suspected-trafficking-actor-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3295193/china-and-thailand-detain-12-crime-ring-members-suspected-trafficking-actor-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jan 2025 08:07:30 +0000 A Chinese actor who went missing near the Thailand-Myanmar border has confirmed he was a victim of human trafficking and fraud syndicates following his rescue from a scam compound. Thai authorities arranged for actor Wang Xing to meet his girlfriend in Bangkok on Wednesday morning, according to a social media post by the girlfriend, who identified herself only using the surname Kang. Thai police earlier confirmed that Wang was tricked into entering Myanmar by fraud groups and lost contact with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294041/chinese-actor-wang-xing-says-fraud-gang-trafficked-him-myanmar-scam-compound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3294041/chinese-actor-wang-xing-says-fraud-gang-trafficked-him-myanmar-scam-compound?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jan 2025 07:18:07 +0000 Chinese authorities have charged 16 Myanmar citizens with crimes including murder and telecoms fraud as part of a crackdown on cross-border cybercrime. Criminal gangs are accused of luring hundreds of thousands of people to cross the border into Myanmar and then forcing them to take part in telecoms scams in the so-called Golden Triangle. Myanmese authorities have handed over more than 31,000 telecoms fraud suspects to China since law enforcement officers from both countries started targeting... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292779/china-charges-myanmar-golden-triangle-syndicate-suspects-murder-and-telecoms-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3292779/china-charges-myanmar-golden-triangle-syndicate-suspects-murder-and-telecoms-fraud?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2024 10:30:23 +0000 China’s involvement in mediating a peace deal between Myanmar’s rebel groups and the ruling military junta has given Beijing leverage over India as both powers jostle to bolster their strategic interests in the country. Last month, two key members of the anti-junta Brotherhood Alliance – Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) – said they were willing to hold peace talks under China’s mediation. The announcement came shortly after a visit to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290945/india-plays-catch-influence-myanmar-chinas-clout-over-junta-and-rebels-grows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290945/india-plays-catch-influence-myanmar-chinas-clout-over-junta-and-rebels-grows?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Dec 2024 04:36:27 +0000 The deployment of Chinese security companies in Myanmar to safeguard Beijing’s economic and strategic interests risks drawing Chinese nationals into the nation’s civil war, potentially leading to deadly incidents and diplomatic crises, analysts warn. Experts say Chinese security personnel will face “massive challenges” in persuading armed groups in Myanmar to allow Chinese projects to resume, particularly since many are located in areas currently controlled by the opposition. Recent media... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3288394/chinese-security-firms-myanmar-risk-escalating-civil-war-and-diplomatic-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3288394/chinese-security-firms-myanmar-risk-escalating-civil-war-and-diplomatic-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Nov 2024 02:00:09 +0000 Beijing says that Myanmar rebel leader Peng Deren is undergoing medical treatment in southwestern China’s Yunnan province, countering media reports saying he had been put under house arrest. “Peng Deren, the leader of Myanmar’s National Democratic Alliance Army, had previously applied to come to China for medical treatment and is now undergoing treatment and recuperation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday. On Monday, Yangon-based news agency Myanmar Now reported that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3287259/china-says-myanmar-rebel-chief-yunnan-medical-care-contrary-detainment-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3287259/china-says-myanmar-rebel-chief-yunnan-medical-care-contrary-detainment-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 11:08:53 +0000 Josephine Ma Josephine Ma Chinese Premier Li Qiang told Myanmar’s visiting junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday that Beijing supports its political reconciliation and plan to hold an election next year. Min Aung Hlaing’s trip is being widely watched – it is his first visit to neighbouring China since the military seized power in a 2021 coup and comes soon after the Chinese consulate in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, was hit with an explosive device in October. China is an ally of the junta government, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3285622/chinese-premier-backs-myanmars-political-transformation-talks-junta-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3285622/chinese-premier-backs-myanmars-political-transformation-talks-junta-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Nov 2024 12:00:13 +0000 An attack on China’s consulate in Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay highlights the challenges Beijing faces in the war-torn country, as it tries to find a balance between the ruling junta and armed opposition, observers say. No casualties were reported after an explosive device was detonated on October 18, damaging the two-storey Chinese consulate in central Mandalay, according to China’s foreign ministry. Analysts say the blast has again raised doubt over whether the military government... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3284004/consulate-attack-highlights-chinas-delicate-balancing-act-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3284004/consulate-attack-highlights-chinas-delicate-balancing-act-myanmar?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Oct 2024 04:00:10 +0000 China has expressed “deep shock” and condemned an attack on its consulate in the second largest city in Myanmar and called on the Myanmar government to “deal with the perpetrators seriously”. Speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China was “deeply shocked” by an attack on its consulate in Mandalay on Friday. A consulate office building was damaged but no personnel were hurt in the attack, which involved an explosive device,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3283271/china-lodges-solemn-protest-and-demands-justice-myanmar-over-consulate-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3283271/china-lodges-solemn-protest-and-demands-justice-myanmar-over-consulate-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Oct 2024 12:06:39 +0000 China’s consulate in Myanmar’s Mandalay city was attacked with an explosive device, local media said on Saturday, adding that no deaths or injuries were reported. The blast occurred at the consulate office in central Mandalay, south of the sprawling Royal Palace, around 7pm local time on Friday. China is a major ally and arms supplier to Myanmar’s junta, but it also maintains ties with ethnic groups fighting the military in Myanmar’s northern Shan state, according to analysts. Myanmar has been... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3283047/china-consulate-myanmar-hit-explosive-device?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3283047/china-consulate-myanmar-hit-explosive-device?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Oct 2024 09:11:51 +0000 China’s People’s Liberation Army started a three-day live-fire exercise on Tuesday, involving ground and air forces on the Chinese side of the country’s border with Myanmar. The drill aimed to test reconnaissance, early warning, area control and firepower abilities, Senior Colonel Tian Junli, spokesman for the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, said on the command’s official WeChat account. “The units are always prepared to respond to any sudden situations, ensuring the protection of national... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3276031/chinas-pla-air-and-ground-forces-start-live-fire-drill-near-myanmar-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3276031/chinas-pla-air-and-ground-forces-start-live-fire-drill-near-myanmar-border?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Aug 2024 01:31:38 +0000 China’s People’s Liberation Army will conduct a three-day live-fire drill from Tuesday on the Chinese side of the China-Myanmar border, according to the provincial government of Yunnan in the country’s southwest. The drill area has been defined by points that include the city of Ruili, near the townships of Huyu and Wanding, Zhenkang county near Mengdui township, as well as the autonomous county of Gengma Dai and Wa near Mengding township. In its announcement on Monday, the provincial government... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3275860/china-strengthens-myanmar-border-armed-and-air-ground-joint-pla-patrols?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3275860/china-strengthens-myanmar-border-armed-and-air-ground-joint-pla-patrols?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:33:52 +0000 As Myanmar’s military junta teeters on the brink of collapse, China is making a bold power play – nudging the war-torn nation towards elections in a bid, experts say, to install a predictable government that will protect Beijing’s interests. The calculus is clear: with the junta haemorrhaging territory to a tenacious insurgency, China wants to ensure the military retains a seat at the table, no matter the outcome. “They cannot win and indeed are losing at a rate they can never recover from,”... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3275684/china-pushes-secure-myanmar-militarys-seat-table-junta-falters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3275684/china-pushes-secure-myanmar-militarys-seat-table-junta-falters?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Aug 2024 07:30:11 +0000 Rebel opposition groups fighting the Myanmar military junta may have ethnic and cultural connections to China, but that does not mean Beijing is happy to see them add to major territorial gains in the country’s civil war, which threatens to spill over the border into Yunnan province. China attaches too much importance to the stability of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), of which Myanmar is a member. As a result, it supports a plan by the junta to conduct an election next year... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3275249/stability-myanmar-paramount-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3275249/stability-myanmar-paramount-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Aug 2024 19:22:39 +0000 China supports peace, unification, territorial integration and political reconciliation in Myanmar, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Burmese military leader Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday in Naypyidaw. Wang’s visit to Myanmar came as a Beijing-brokered ceasefire collapsed and ethnic minority rebel groups gained ground against the ruling junta in regions bordering China’s southern Yunnan province. Maintaining ties with both the military junta and the rebels, China sent special envoy Deng Xijun to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3274522/china-calls-national-unity-myanmar-rebels-gain-ground-near-yunnan-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3274522/china-calls-national-unity-myanmar-rebels-gain-ground-near-yunnan-border?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2024 22:00:33 +0000 Myanmar’s military on Wednesday said rumours top generals had detained the embattled junta chief in a new coup were “propaganda” spread by “traitors” ahead of a visit by China’s foreign minister. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has faced public criticism from military supporters in recent weeks as government troops lose territory to ethnic minority armed groups and other opponents battling to overturn its 2021 coup. On Tuesday, several social media posts claimed that top generals had detained Min... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274423/myanmar-denies-military-chief-detained-generals-slams-traitors-spreading-propaganda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274423/myanmar-denies-military-chief-detained-generals-slams-traitors-spreading-propaganda?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2024 06:35:37 +0000 Three years ago, in the wake of a military coup that eviscerated Myanmar’s democratic experiment, many predicted that the army’s power grab implied profound future changes to Naypyidaw’s foreign policy. The presumption among a number of foreign policy analysts was that the divorce from the West and reimposition of various rounds of sanctions against the military-installed regime would deal a mortal blow to the increasingly diversified great power diplomacy pursued by Myanmar during the previous... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3274133/post-coup-myanmar-has-not-turned-chinese-vassal-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3274133/post-coup-myanmar-has-not-turned-chinese-vassal-state?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2024 21:30:10 +0000 China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Myanmar on Wednesday after heavy fighting near the Chinese border saw rebel groups making a series of gains that prompted suggestions it marked a “fundamental change” in the situation. Recently Beijing has stepped up its efforts to mediate between the ruling junta and a loose alliance of ethnic minority rebel groups with which it also maintains relations. Wang’s visit to Myanmar, the highest-level Chinese visit since May last year, follows special... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3274363/chinese-foreign-minister-visits-myanmar-amid-fresh-fighting-between-junta-and-rebel-groups?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3274363/chinese-foreign-minister-visits-myanmar-amid-fresh-fighting-between-junta-and-rebel-groups?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2024 14:00:16 +0000 China could be increasingly perceiving Myanmar’s junta as “the main problem”, with generals in the war-torn Southeast Asian country unwilling to hold talks with resistance forces as urged by Beijing. Observers warn that if an election is held next year in Myanmar as promised, it is likely to be incomplete and “far from representative”. Last Wednesday, Myanmar’s military government extended a state of emergency for another six months, according to state media, on grounds it would give the junta... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3273745/myanmar-junta-holds-out-elections-peace-talks-rebels-could-china-rethink-its-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3273745/myanmar-junta-holds-out-elections-peace-talks-rebels-could-china-rethink-its-support?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2024 00:00:10 +0000 The opposition in Myanmar has called on China to stop providing arms to the ruling military junta, saying the regime is using them to “kill their own people and civilians”. “We are trying to encourage our neighbouring country, please do not support the military junta, not just only in business or financially, but also in terms of providing arms deals,” said Zin Mar Aung, foreign minister of the National Unity Government of Myanmar, during an interview in Brussels. The NUG claims to be Myanmar’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3260590/myanmars-opposition-foreign-minister-urges-china-stop-arms-deals-ruling-junta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3260590/myanmars-opposition-foreign-minister-urges-china-stop-arms-deals-ruling-junta?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Apr 2024 08:00:25 +0000 The People’s Liberation Army conducted its second live-fire drill along China’s border with Myanmar this month, signalling Beijing’s heightened concerns over its neighbour’s deteriorating security situation. The drill, which began on Wednesday, was organised by the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command and is a live-fire air defence exercise involving both ground and air forces, according to the theatre command’s WeChat account. It said the drill tested the forces’ abilities in “air-defence capacity,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3259318/china-conducts-second-live-fire-drill-along-myanmar-border-month-concerns-over-rebel-uprisings-grow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3259318/china-conducts-second-live-fire-drill-along-myanmar-border-month-concerns-over-rebel-uprisings-grow?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Apr 2024 08:31:31 +0000 The People’s Liberation Army said it will remain on high alert and “further strengthen” its patrols and control along China’s border with Myanmar, after conducting a live-fire drill in the area this week. An article published by the official PLA Daily said on Thursday that tensions had intensified recently in northern Myanmar, where rebel groups are resisting the country’s military rulers. While the two countries have been “friendly” neighbours for decades, the war in northern Myanmar has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3257812/china-military-high-alert-myanmar-border-after-live-fire-drill-ends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3257812/china-military-high-alert-myanmar-border-after-live-fire-drill-ends?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Apr 2024 06:22:55 +0000 The Chinese military is set to conduct a series of live-fire exercises near its border with Myanmar as fighting between rebel forces and the ruling military junta continues. China has frequently expressed its concerns about cross-border stability and protested after shells fired in Myanmar injured five people in the border town of Nansan in January. The autonomous prefecture of Dehong Dai and Jingpo in Yunnan said on Monday that a joint-force live-fire exercise will take place in two counties... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3257477/chinas-military-hold-live-fire-exercise-myanmar-border-fighting-continues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3257477/chinas-military-hold-live-fire-exercise-myanmar-border-fighting-continues?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2024 01:00:21 +0000