China’s military conducted live-fire drills on the Chinese side of the border with Myanmar on Saturday amid fierce fighting between Myanmar junta troops and ethnic allied forces.
The “combat training activities” were conducted a day after a convoy of trucks carrying goods into the neighboring Southeast Asian nation went up in flames.
Fighting has raged along the China-Myanmar border since October 27 when the Brotherhood Alliance launched “Operation 1027,” a coordinated offensive against the Myanmar military that has seen most border trade routes closed.
The incident, which Myanmar state media called an insurgent attack, came amid insecurity concerns in China, whose envoy met top officials in Myanmar’s capital for talks on border stability after recent signs of rare strain in their ties.
The training aims to “test the rapid maneuverability, border sealing and fire strike capabilities of theatre troops,” the Southern Theatre Command, one of five in China’s People’s Liberation Army, said on the WeChat messaging app.
A separate statement released by the provincial government of China’s Yunnan, which neighbours Myanmar, said the drills would run until November 28 in the areas near Manghai, Manling and Qingshuihe villages.
Myanmar was told of the drills, military junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said, adding that they aimed to “maintain stability and peace” near the border, and did not undermine China’s policy of non-interference in Myanmar’s internal affairs.
“The military tie between China and Myanmar is firm and collaboration between both armies is friendly and building up,” he said in his post on state-run social media.
Friday’s fire in the town of Muse came as Myanmar’s military has lost control of several towns and military outposts in the northeast and elsewhere as it battles the biggest co-ordinated offensive it has faced since seizing power in a 2021 coup.
Myanmar regime has lost over 180 of its bases and six towns – including strategic sections of key Myanmar-China trade routes – to the Brotherhood Alliance.
The alliance comprises three ethnic armies: the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army.
