China conducts second live-fire drill along Myanmar border this month as concerns over rebel uprisings grow

“Troops in the theatre ought to prepare to respond to all kinds of emergencies at all times and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, border stability, and the safety of people’s lives and property,” the statement said.

China military on ‘high alert’ at Myanmar border after live-fire drill ends

The military exercise came just two weeks after a PLA live-fire drill along the border as rebel uprisings continued in northern Myanmar.

This is the third such live-fire drill Beijing has made public since an alliance of rebel groups in northern Myanmar launched an offensive against the country’s military junta last October.

Earlier this month, military mouthpiece PLA Daily said the war in northern Myanmar had “seriously threatened” security and stability in the border region, adding that the Chinese army would take “all necessary measures” to protect the safety of its people.

It repeated China’s calls for a ceasefire in northern Myanmar, urging “relevant parties to maintain maximum restraint and continue to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation”.

The Three Brotherhood Alliance, a coalition of three rebel militias in northern Myanmar, began conducting strikes in late October, posing a major challenge to the military junta that overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in 2021. Myanmar’s Shan state, which borders China, is the main battleground in the unrest.

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Myanmar residents flee to Thailand as junta loses control of border town

China has repeatedly raised concerns about the security of the border region.

Several people in China’s Yunnan province, which shares around 2,000km (1,243 miles) of border with Myanmar, have been injured by aerial fire exchanges originating in the Southeast Asian country.

Beijing has worked to push both the junta and the rebels to the negotiating table, but the results have been viewed as limited.

In January, Beijing said it had brokered a ceasefire between Naypyidaw and the rebel alliance, but the junta reportedly breached the deal a day later.

There have been four rounds of peace talks. The last round, held in Yunnan’s provincial capital Kunming, focused on border trade. But there have been no breakthroughs, according to The Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based independent news outlet reporting on Myanmar.

China has maintained public official exchanges with the junta government since the fighting began in northern Myanmar.

Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong visited Naypyidaw and met junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing days after the conflict began in October.

Chinese foreign vice-minister Sun Weidong also held a series of talks with Min Aung Hlaing in January.

United Nations reports in 2022 and 2023 accused China of providing arms for the junta’s efforts to overthrow the democratic government – an accusation Beijing rejects.

Beijing does not label the junta’s removal of the elected government in 2021 as a “coup”.

Despite the anti-junta combat continuing in northern Myanmar, Beijing has continued its cooperation with Naypyidaw to crack down on cyber scams in the country, which frequently target Chinese nationals.

More than 800 suspected cross-border scammers were arrested in a joint police operation by Myanmar and China, Beijing’s embassy in Yangon said earlier this month.

Tens of thousands of scammers and some heads of criminal organisations have been arrested by police from the two countries since last year.

South China Morning Post