ASEANEWS HEADLINE-CIVIL WAR | MYANMAR: MNDAA distances itself from NUG as it announces end to offensive amid Chinese pressure
MNDAA troops in front of the headquarters of the Northeastern Regional Military Command in Lashio shortly after its capture in early August (MNDAA)
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The move is unlikely to impact other ongoing anti-junta offensives, according to a political analyst
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The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a leading force in the Operation 1027 anti-regime offensive, has announced that it will not cooperate militarily or politically with Myanmar’s publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG).
The MNDAA and its ally, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), have taken control of most of northern Shan State, including its largest city Lashio, since the launch of Operation 1027 in October of last year.
However, in a statement released on Wednesday, the group, also known as the Kokang Army, said that it would not make any effort to capture the Shan State capital, Taunggyi, or Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingThe statement was initially posted on Facebook two weeks earlier, shortly after China expressed dissatisfaction with the situation along its border with Shan State, but was soon taken down.
Political analyst Than Soe Naing told Myanmar Now that the statement was likely issued in response to pressure from China. While it may affect the MNDAA’s relations with People’s Defence Force groups involved in Operation 1027, he said he didn’t think it would impact other resistance efforts like Operation Shan-Man, currently ongoing along the border between Shan State and Mandalay Region.
“They are essentially stating that they will not take their offensive beyond Lashio. Given their geopolitical and economic situation, along with internal crises, the MNDAA has had to suspend military actions due to Chinese pressure,” he explained.
“This position is not genuinely theirs; it reflects China’s stance. They’re simply announcing the direction laid out for them by China,” he added.
According to Than Soe Naing, China is also behind a push to reopen the main China-Myanmar trade corridor, from Mandalay to the border town of Muse, after nearly a year of disruptions caused by the fighting.
The ongoing conflict has strained relations between China and the Myanmar regime, which has accused its long-time ally of supporting the MNDAA and TNLA.
On August 5, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing claimed that the regime would not have lost control of its Northeastern Regional Military Command headquarters in Lashio if not for China’s involvement.
The following day, ultranationalists and other regime supporters staged protests in Yangon and Naypyitaw denouncing China, in a rare public display of the junta’s displeasure with Myanmar’s powerful neighbour.
In a statement released after a meeting between Min Aung Hlaing and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, held in Naypyitaw on August 14, the Chinese embassy in Myanmar said that “China opposes instability and war in Myanmar, and opposes any attempts to discredit and smear China that aim to divide China-Myanmar relations.”
Days later, at the 9th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on August 16, Wang Yi cautioned against “external forces” interfering in Myanmar’s internal matters.
Although the MNDAA said it would not seek to not further expand its territory, it stopped short of announcing a ceasefire with the regime, saying that it would continue to exercise its right to self-defence if it came under attack.
Neither the MNDAA nor the NUG responded to Myanmar Now’s requests for comment on Wednesday’s statement.
Late last month, the TNLA reported that it was warned by China to end its offensive in northern Shan State.
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