China top diplomat meets Myanmar leader, junta denies coup rumors

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Myanmar ruler Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday and highlighted Beijing’s continued support for the military regime, even as the junta had to dispel rumors of a coup.

Pro-junta media reported that the two men held a closed-door meeting in the capital Naypyidaw during which Wang expressed China’s hope for Myanmar’s stability and development, expressed appreciation for Myanmar’s continued endorsement of China’s claim to sovereignty over the democratic island of Taiwan, and pledged China’s steadfast support in international forums.

The meeting came amid calls from junta supporters for the removal of Min Aung Hlaing over his failure to eliminate the armed opposition and rumors circulating on social media that he had been deposed by a fellow general, which the military regime’s True News Information Team denied.

During Wednesday’s talks, Wang emphasized the need for all stakeholders to be represented in an election that the junta has promised for next year, but which critics say will be an illegitimate sham. Wang also offered China’s assistance with election-related matters and technical support for a census in preparation for the vote, media reports said.

Myanmar’s military ousted an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in early 2021, jailing her and hundreds of party colleagues and supporters, dissolving her party and banning other parties.

The coup touched off a nationwide civil war as the junta sought to cement its control, pitting it against various paramilitary groups and ethnic armies on multiple fronts in the country’s remote border regions. The junta has promised to hold elections but critics say a vote would be meaningless with Suu Kyi and so many pro-democracy politicians and activists behind bars.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Wang expressed Beijing’s opposition to attacks by ethnic armed groups on towns and villages in northern Shan state, which borders China.

Junta officials responded by saying that Myanmar would not permit any actions that could harm China’s interests and is placing special attention on China’s stability, development and security, reports said.

Beijing has not released any information regarding the meeting or discussions with the junta and details of Wang’s statement were not carried by pro-junta media.

‘Push for broad dialogue’

Speaking to RFA Burmese, Kyaw Zaw, the spokesperson for the presidential office of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, suggested that “China’s statements were misrepresented by the junta” to align with its interests and stabilize the border region.

“The Chinese Embassy has also issued a statement [ahead of the meeting],” he said. “Their primary concern seems to be the border areas of Shan state and aiming to halt the fighting in Myanmar – particularly due to fears about the impact on their own border regions.”

Attempts by RFA to contact junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for his response to the NUG’s claims went unanswered Wednesday.

Hla Kyaw Zaw, an expert on China-Myanmar affairs, said that Wang met with Min Aung Hlaing as part of a bid by the Chinese government to “maintain a positive relationship” with the junta.

“The situation [in northern Shan state] won’t be resolved by a ceasefire alone,” he said. “There is a push for a broad dialogue that includes all stakeholders involved in the Myanmar issue to find a comprehensive solution. But the junta appears to be displeased with this approach.”

RFA sources in Naypyidaw said that Wang Yi’s visit to Myanmar was also scheduled to include meetings with retired Senior Gen. Than Shwe and former President Thein Sein, who led Myanmar’s quasi-civilian government prior to the November 2020 elections that brought Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party to power.

Wang Yi’s meeting with Min Aung Hlaing follows talks he held in June with Myanmar’s former President Thein Sein at the State Guesthouse in Beijing. The Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Myanmar is his second since the military coup, following one in June 2022.

Rumors of coup

The talks in Naypyidaw came amid rumors swirling on social media that Min Aung Hlaing had been detained as part of an internal coup orchestrated by a military adjutant general on Tuesday evening.

The claims, which originated from a social media account called “Captain Seagull,” were quickly dismissed by the junta’s True News Information Team as “baseless rumors spread by fake accounts aimed at destabilizing the country.”

The information team also said that military officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, were continuing to perform their duties as usual.

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A former military officer, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, told RFA that the disinformation is part of a broader effort to create social and political instability in Myanmar.

“The notion of a military disintegration due to an internal coup is creating false hope among the public,” he said. “In reality, the political situation remains stagnant. The military, having been built up over decades, cannot be expected to collapse in just three years.”

The rumors come amid frustration from junta supporters over Min Aung Hlaing’s handling of the conflict, which has seen the armed opposition make substantial gains in recent months.

Market shelled

Myanmar’s military has increasingly turned to airstrikes and artillery fire as its troops suffer battlefield defeats, often with deadly results for the country’s civilian population.

During busy hours on Tuesday, at least 11 civilians were killed and 10 others injured when junta troops in Sagaing region’s Monywa township fired a 60-millimeter rocket that landed in a market in Hta Naung Taw village, residents told RFA.

Those killed in the attack included eight women and three men, aged 14 to 50, they said.

A woman who was at the market and witnessed the attack told RFA that it occurred at around 9:00 a.m.

“We heard the explosion followed by huge smoke, and everyone started running, while others stood as if in a daze,” said the woman, who also declined to be named for fear of reprisal. 

Residents no longer dare to sleep in their homes, fearing more artillery attacks, and have taken shelter in concrete bunkers and nearby monasteries, she said.

A member of the armed opposition in Monywa township told RFA that junta troops used to exclusively fire heavy weapons at military positions, but have begun targeting civilians as well.

“Recently, they began intentionally targeting busy areas with tea shops, betel shops, markets, and so on,” he said.

On Sunday, an artillery shell fired from the military’s Ma Au village checkpoint exploded in front of a betel shop near Lin Poe and Lin Pin villages, killing two 40-year-old female pedestrians and injuring nine others.

Attempts by RFA to reach Nyunt Win Aung, the junta’s social affairs minister and spokesperson for Sagaing region, by phone for comment on the attacks went unanswered Wednesday.

According to data collected by RFA, as of the end of May, military airstrikes and artillery fire have killed 596 civilians and injured 823 others in Sagaing region.

Translated by Kalyar Lwin and Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes.