Junta Appeal for China’s intervention in Shan Conflict Falls on Dear Ears in Kunming Peace Talks Unlikely to Prevent Further Regime Losses in Shan State

Junta Appeal for China’s intervention in Shan Conflict Falls on Dear Ears in Kunming Peace Talks Unlikely to Prevent Further Regime Losses in Shan State
A meeting between the Military Council and the Three Brotherhood Alliance in June
A meeting between the Military Council and the Three Brotherhood Alliance in June

The humiliation of Operation 1027 sweeping across 20 towns has forced the desperate Junta leader to urgently appeal for China’s intervention to halt the Three Brothers Alliance offensive and stop the fighting in northern Shan State.

China’s foreign Minister Wang Yi responded to General Min Aung Hlaing’s urgent appeal by accepting that China would act to broker peace talks held in Kunming on December 11th.

However Political analyst U Than Soe Naing considered that meeting did not fulfill the Junta’s hopes that China would exert strong pressure on the Three Brotherhood Alliance.

Alliance to stop their anti-regime campaign.

The analyst concluded that the Three Brotherhood Alliance only engaged in discussions with the Military Council solely due to China's mediation. U Than Soe Naing commented that, "Only the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) agreed to a 15-day ceasefire in the meeting with the Military Council. But The Three Brotherhood Alliance's operation will carry on the fighting will continue.This meeting is unlikely to be a political turning point”, he told DMG.

The paltry gains for the Junta from the negotiations between the two parties, amounts to no more than a temporary ceasefire  set to last until the end of December. The second agreement is the Junta  has agreed accept a peaceful withdrawal of its  troops from the strategic town of Laukkai, without further bloodshed.



. These talks on December 11th were attended by Three Brotherhood Alliance, which included the  MNDAA, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Arakan Army (AA), in discussions with the Junta’s National Solidarity and Peacemaking Negotiation Committee (NSPNC) held in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.

Another political analyst U Tun Kyi  observed that ,"At the moment, 'Operation 1027' is going well. A sudden temporary ceasefire is in place, so we'll have to keep a close watch. But it's unlikely the fighting will completely stop. Politically, I don't expect any big changes”, he said.

The junta believes that China can stop the alliance’s offensive, but even if China   attempted to intervene, observers say it is very unlikely that the three alliance members will stop fighting because they have already gained territory.

The regime has so far lost control of nearly 20 towns since Operation 1027 was launched. Seven of them are in northern Shan State. Over 300 junta positions have also fallen, more than 200 of which are near the Myanmar-China border in northern Shan State. U Tun Kyi ‘s assessment is that, “The Three Brotherhood Alliance's 'Operation 1027' currently holds a  decisive advantage over the Military Council, making the prospect of agreeing to a long-term ceasefire impractical.”

At the same time, there are reports suggesting that TNLA and AA have abstained from endorsing the results of the discussions. The Three Brotherhood Alliance has not shared any details about the Kunming meeting, and DMG's inquiry into the matter has yet to receive a response.

It is clear this is a local ceasefire agreement that has no bearing on the Brotherhood Alliance offensive in Rakhine State by the AA (Aarakan Army). Since the AA’s recent capture of Hnonebu Tactical Operation Command Base in Paletwa, Chin State on the morning of December 12th, a jet fighter belonging to the Military Council carried out an attack on the capture base near the Paletwa Township.

AA has announced that in its stronghold of Rakhine State, several Military Council bases in Buthidaung, Rathedaung, Minbya, Mruak-U, Ann, and Myebon Townships are engaging in live-fire training, along with naval and airborne military drills.

"The situation in northern Shan State may have shifted slightly, but the talks won't have a significant impact on the entire country. The ongoing resistance struggles nationwide aren't solely reliant on a single region”, a representative for All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) noted.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance calls upon the people of Myanmar to bear arms and resist the Military Council through all available means during this second phase of 'Operation 1027’.

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