Updated Jan. 21, 2025, 3:52 p.m. ET.
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A rebel army in northeastern Myanmar has agreed to a ceasefire with the junta after talks mediated by neighboring China, which is keen to see an end to Myanmar’s turbulence, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Myanmar’s junta has suffered unprecedented setbacks at the hands of different insurgent groups over the past year, raising questions about the sustainability of military rule over the ethnically diverse country, where China has considerable economic interests.
China has been putting pressure on some insurgents, particularly those operating in Myanmar regions on the Chinese border, such as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, to press them into negotiations with the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup.
“With China’s mediation and effort to drive progress … the two sides reached and signed a formal ceasefire agreement, and stopped fighting at 12 a.m. on January 18, 2025,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a briefing in Beijing on Monday, referring to the MNDAA and the Myanmar military.
The talks were held in China’s southwest city of Kunming, Mao said but she gave no details of the agreement.
“China stands ready to actively promote talks for peace and provide support and help for the peace process in northern Myanmar,” she said.
Neither the MNDAA nor the junta had released any information about a ceasefire at time of publication and Radio Free Asia was not able to contact their spokespeople for comment.
The MNDAA, based in the Kokang region of Myanmar’s Shan state, was one of three allied insurgent groups that launched a stunning offensive in October 2023, pushing the military out of swathes of territory, numerous military camps and towns, despite China’s efforts to broker peace.
The MNDAA captured the major town of Lashio and the army’s regional command headquarters there in early August.
China later closed the border with the MNDAA zone, cutting off vital supplies.
In October, MNDAA leader Peng Daxun traveled to China for medical treatment and to meet a senior Chinese official. Sources close to the MNDAA later told RFA that he was prevented from returning to Myanmar as a way of pressing the group to make peace. China denied that.
ASEAN urges nationwide truce
Meanwhile, ASEAN member states on Sunday urged the military junta to cease all fighting against the country’s various rebel factions and begin a dialogue with the groups instead of prioritizing holding elections next year.
The generals who seized power in 2021 are hoping that an election will legitimize their rule and please neighbors, including China.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamed Hassan also said he had suggested to a junta representative that unhindered humanitarian access be allowed throughout the country, according to Reuters.
Hassan made the comments to reporters following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, which was held over the weekend on Langkawi Island, Malaysia.
“We believe ASEAN leaders are well aware that the junta is attempting to find a political solution through fake elections,” said Duwa Lashi La, the acting president of the shadow National Unity Government, which was formed by officials deposed in the 2021 coup.
“We welcome ASEAN’s call to the military regime, emphasizing that the election is not a priority; the priority now is to cease fire,” he said.
Hassan also announced on Sunday that Othman Hashim, Malaysia’s former foreign minister, has been appointed as the special envoy of the ASEAN chair for Myanmar. Malaysia will assume the rotating ASEAN chairmanship for 2025.
Othman will travel to Myanmar soon, Hassan said. He’ll be tasked with implementing ASEAN’s proposed five-point peace plan, which includes a ceasefire and talks.
The plan was formulated by the bloc just after the coup in 2021, but
Myanmar’s generals have ignored it and have battled on against a loose alliance of ethnic minority forces and pro-democracy fighters who have made significant battlefield gains over the last year.
Questions over Lashio
It wasn’t immediately clear what the weekend ceasefire with the MNDAA would mean for Lashio, a major trade gateway with China.
Earlier, the MNDAA said it would agree to a ceasefire if it could retain control of Lashio.
A resident said there had been no major changes there this week.
“Transport is running as usual,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.
“According to what we can see, it doesn’t look like the Kokang Army is withdrawing,” he said, referring to the MNDAA. “I get the sense they have a firm foothold here.”
A political analyst in the region said he had heard that the main issues the two sides discussed in recent talks were border trade and returning prisoners of war, not a rebel withdrawal from Lashio.
He said he did not expect the region’s status to be determined until after the junta holds an election, expected later this year, which it hopes will bolster its legitimacy.
“We’ll have to wait and see if the government and the MNDAA can discuss issues related to territory,” said the analyst, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.
Another analyst, who is also a former army officer, said both sides would initially be cautious.
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“The agreement has only just been made … the next thing is to wait and see if each side is committed,” said the second analyst, who also declined to be identified as talking to the media.
The progress toward peace has led to China re-opening some of its border crossings, to the relief of communities deprived of Chinese trade for weeks, sources in the region said.
“Food products can be sent and received normally,” Nyi Yan, a liaison officer with the United Wa State Army, another militia force based in Shan state, told RFA.
“China also eased restrictions on the import of fuel into Wa administrative regions on Sunday night.”
Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA staff and Matt Reed. This story has been updated to include details from the ASEAN meeting.