CHINA Mandalay: explosion at the Chinese consulate

A grenade hit the Beijing representation on Friday. No victims were recorded. The Burmese military junta said it would launch an investigation to identify those responsible. In recent days, discontent with China has grown in Myanmar, which has called on ethnic militias to stop fighting in Shan State.

Mandalay (/Agencies) – On Friday, October 18, the Chinese consulate in Mandalay, Myanmar, was attacked with a grenade. An official of the coup military junta explained that the device fell on the roof, but there was no damage or victims. An investigation will be carried out – he added – and the “terrorists” will be arrested. Hours later, the Government of National Unity (GNU), formed by deputies in exile from the previous government, also condemned the attack on the Chinese consulate.

The attack is indicative of discontent over China’s relations with both the military junta and ethnic militias, fighting on opposite sides of the civil war.

Last week, the Burmese military junta had announced that General Min Aung Hlaing, responsible for the coup d’état that led to the civil war, would soon visit China.

This morning Beijing condemned the attack and called on Myanmar authorities to make every effort to arrest those responsible. “China expresses deep shock at the attack and severely condemns it,” the spokesperson said Lin Jian.

China’s consul in Myanmar, Gao Ping, took office in August. A former political prisoner from Mandalay told The Irrawaddy that “the Chinese consulate is always heavily guarded and the entrance is almost always closed. “Half of the road near the consulate is blocked by barriers with very high walls.”

Both on social media and in several cities in Myanmar, including Mandalay and Yangon, there have been protests in recent days against China, which has pressured ethnic militias to stop fighting the Burmese army in Shan State. . Beijing has no interest in ending the conflict, but needs a cessation of fighting to advance its infrastructure projects that are part of the Belt and Road Initiatives.

In August, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had met with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, a visit that was interpreted as support for the military government.