“You are here to receive medical attention”

Pneg Deren had traveled to Yunnan to meet Chinese officials, local media reported, but was later detained. Despite pressure from Beijing, its militia, the MNDAA, maintains control of the city of Lashio, in Shan State. Meanwhile, bombing by the Burmese air force in the region has left at least 12 people dead, including eight children. They also destroyed a Baptist church.

Yangon (/Agencies) – Peng Deren, 59, commander of one of the three ethnic militias that have been besieging the Burmese coup army in Shan State for nearly a year, was arrested more than a month ago by the authorities China, as reported in recent days by the local newspaper Myanmar Now, citing sources from Burmese and the Chinese province of Yunnan.

Beijing responded to the accusations by saying that the military chief had “requested to come to China for medical care, and is currently undergoing treatment and convalescence,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said today.

Peng Deren (also known as Peng Daxun) is the leader of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a major ethnic militia fighting the Burmese army responsible for the coup that sparked the 2021 civil conflict. Along with The Arakan Army (AA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the MNDAA launched an offensive in October last year to reconquer the northern territories bordering China.

According to reports Myanmar NowPeng Deren was summoned to Yunnan to meet with a Chinese envoy on October 26, and was then detained by the authorities, although he has the possibility of contacting his commanders by telephone. A source of Radio Free Asia He later confirmed that the Chinese government is holding Peng to force MNDAA forces to abandon the city of Lashio, which was recaptured in August by the resistance. Lashio is located in the Kokang region, where the population is ethnically Chinese, but there was a base of the northeastern command of the Burmese army there.

China militarily supports the coup junta but also maintains frequent contacts with the militias. In January, Beijing attempted to negotiate a ceasefire, although this did not last, which has created serious difficulties for investments and infrastructure projects that are part of the Belt and Road Initiatives. Most of these projects are located in active conflict zones and are experiencing delays. Furthermore, the ethnic militias that have regained control of the territories act independently of each other and govern the areas under their control with administrations of different types, often clashing even with the local population.

After Lashio’s fall, China has put increasing pressure on the MNDAA and its ally, the TNLA, operating in Shan, to end the fighting and start talks with the military junta, but without involving the government. of National Unity (NUG), formed by legislators from the previous government in exile that, according to Beijing, acts under the influence of the United States. The MNDAA declared in September that it maintains its distance from the NUG, but does not seem determined to abandon Lashio, despite the fact that in recent months China has cut off water and electricity supplies in the Kokang region.

China has also intensified diplomatic activity with the Burmese regime, proposing the creation of a “joint security company” with troops from the Burmese army to protect Chinese strategic interests. As reported in recent days by the website The Irrawaddy, This company should deal with the import of weapons and special equipment, but it is not clear if or when the project will come to fruition.

Meanwhile, airstrikes by the Burmese air force in Shan and neighboring Kachin State have left 12 civilians dead, including eight children. According to the local militia, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), in the village of Kone Law army troops also attacked a Kachin Baptist Convention church where dozens of people had taken refuge. At least seven children were killed and 11 other displaced people were injured.

The KIA has also recaptured large swaths of territory and China closed all commercial border crossings in late October and suspended the export of rare earths from Kachin, which is now under the control of the local militia. Only the city of Kanpiketi, where another pass leading to China is located, remains in the hands of the military junta’s troops.