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Kokang rebel group cites pressure from China as key reason to end hostilities
The Kokang rebel group on Thursday declared a unilateral cease-fire with Myanmar’s armed forces after months of fighting, citing pressure from China to restore stability to the border region in northern Shan state.
According to a statement from the group, also known as the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army, the cease-fire took effect at noon local time on June 10. The group cited “strong demands of the Chinese government” as a key reason for the cessation of hostilities, as well as the Myanmar’s coming elections, in which the rebels hope people in their territory can participate.
The statement added that the Kokang group would defend itself if attacked.
Spokespersons for the Myanmar and Chinese governments weren’t immediately available for comment.
The cease-fire comes as a peace process between Myanmar’s armed ethnic groups and its reformist government runs into hurdles, complicating plans for a nationwide cease-fire backed by Myanmar President Thein Sein . Though the text of the peace agreement had been provisionally agreed in March, a conference of ethnic leaders last week decided not to finalize the draft. Leaders of ethnic armed groups also declared that they wouldn’t sign a deal with the government unless the Kokang, which hadn’t been involved in the negotiations, were included.
Min Zaw Oo, the director of cease-fire negotiation and implementation at the government-linked Myanmar Peace Center, which oversees the peace process, called the Kokang’s cease-fire declaration an admission of defeat, noting that Myanmar’s armed forces, also known as the Tatmadaw, had retaken most of the areas the group had previously controlled.
The Kokang cease-fire coincides with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi ’s first trip to Beijing, in which she is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping .
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives in Beijing on Wednesday. PHOTO: MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The trip, analysts say, will be a chance for Beijing to feel out the policies and agenda of the popular opposition leader and democracy icon, whose National League for Democracy party is expected to have a much bigger role in government after the country’s general elections in November.
Fighting in the border region has strained ties between China and Myanmar. In February, Kokang rebel commander Peng Jiasheng launched an offensive against the Tatmadaw in Shan state. Hundreds of soldiers on both sides were killed, and thousands of civilians—many of them ethnic Chinese—have fled into Chinese territory. About one month later, a stray bomb fell into Chinese territory, killing five farmers and injuring eight others.
Last week, China said its military would hold a live-fire exercise near its border with Myanmar, signaling its growing concern about stability in the region.
Write to Shibani Mahtani at shibani.mahtani@wsj.com