YANGON: China’s special envoy met Myanmar’s junta chief for talks on “peace and stability” along their shared border, Myanmar state media reported Friday, days after ethnic rebels seized a regional military command.
Myanmar’s northern Shan state has been the site of repeated clashes since late June after ethnic rebel groups renewed an offensive against the military along a vital trade highway to China.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing discussed “internal peace processes in Myanmar, peace and stability measures in the border region” with China’s Deng Xijun in the capital Naypyidaw on Thursday, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.
The senior general “explained the implementation of objectives and a five-point roadmap in order to ensure peace, stability,” the state-run newspaper said.
AFP has contacted China’s embassy in Yangon for comment.
China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta, but analysts say it also maintains ties with armed ethnic groups in Myanmar that hold territory near its border.
Last week, an alliance of ethnic rebel groups captured the military’s northeastern command in the town of Lashio, home to about 150,000 people.
The capture of the regional command — the first by opponents of the junta since the military’s 2021 coup — has sparked rare public criticism of the top generals by its supporters.
On Monday, Min Aung Hlaing said the alliance was receiving weapons, including drones and short-range missiles, from “foreign” sources that he did not identify.
Dozens of civilians have been killed or wounded in the recent fighting, according to the junta and local rescue groups.
Myanmar’s borderlands are home to myriad ethnic armed groups who have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 for autonomy and control of lucrative resources.
Some have given shelter and training to newer “People’s Defense Forces” that have sprung up to battle the military after its ouster of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in a 2021 coup.
China envoy, Myanmar junta chief meet on border clashes
https://arab.news/nw8d8
China envoy, Myanmar junta chief meet on border clashes
- Myanmar’s northern Shan state has been the site of repeated clashes since late June
- Ethnic rebel groups renewed an offensive against the military along a vital trade highway to China
EU sends emergency generators to Ukraine as France plans to coordinate aid
- The European Commission will send 447 emergency generators worth $4.3m to restore power
- “Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ... are designed to break Ukrainian spirit,” Lahbib said
PARIS: The European Union is deploying emergency generators to Ukraine, saying Russian bombings have left a million people without power and heating, while France plans to hold a call to rally international help for Ukrainians exposed to extreme cold.
Electrical engineers have been working around the clock in hazardous conditions for weeks since Russia escalated attacks on Ukraine’s grid during a cold snap that has reached temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 F).
The European Commission will send 447 emergency generators worth 3.7 million euros ($4.3 million) to restore power to hospitals, shelters and critical services affected by “relentless Russian strikes,” it said in a statement on Friday.
It added the generators will be mobilized from strategic reserves hosted in Poland and distributed in cooperation with the Ukrainian Red Cross to the most affected communities.
“Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ... are designed to break Ukrainian spirit,” European crisis chief Hadja Lahbib said in the statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared an energy emergency after the strikes over winter knocked out power generation and distribution facilities.
“We won’t let Russia freeze Ukraine. We bring light and warmth where Russia sends darkness,” Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova told a daily news briefing.
FRANCE TO HOLD CALL WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
Earlier on Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM television that France would
hold a call
with G7 countries as well as Nordic and Baltic states later in the day to coordinate support for Ukraine’s energy grid.
“He continues to shell Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. We will continue to support Ukraine,” Barrot said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said France would supply Ukraine with the equivalent of 13 extra megawatts of electricity and around 100 generators to replace destroyed infrastructure. Other countries would also pledge assistance during the virtual meeting, he said.
