After more than 70 days of fighting in northern Myanmar, also known as Burma, the pro-communist Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an armed ethnic rebellion force, has taken over the Kokang region from the ruling military junta.
According to the pro-MNDAA online blog Kokang123, on Jan. 5, the rebel group took full control of Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone of Shan State, and all military personnel surrendered.
The report said that the rebel forces launched the attack on Oct. 27, 2023, and caused more than 2,000 enemy casualties and captured more than 4,000, including six brigadier generals.
The news was also confirmed by the Burmese military junta.
Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the government, told the pro-junta website Popular News Journal on Jan. 6 that the military and its local commanders had relinquished control of Laukkai after considering several factors, including the safety of family members of the military.
The military also took into account Myanmar’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)), which has been seeking an end to the fighting, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun said.
Kokang is located on Myanmar’s border with China’s Yunnan Province.
Five people were injured when a stray artillery shell landed on Chinese soil during fighting between the Burmese military junta and MNDAA on Jan. 3. The Chinese regime immediately lodged a series of diplomatic protests with Myanmar over the incident.
On Jan. 4, Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the situation and demanded an immediate ceasefire between the conflicting parties in northern Myanmar.
On the next day, CCP State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong had a video conference with Myanmar’s Interior Minister Yabil. The Chinese state media said the two sides were willing to cooperate in law enforcement, border security, and building a “China-Myanmar common destiny.”
From Jan. 4-6, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Sun Weidong traveled to Myanmar to meet with Myanmar military junta leader Min Aung Hlaing during a three-day visit.
According to the Chinese state media, the two sides agreed to jointly build the “Belt and Road Initiative” and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor. Mr. Sun was in Myanmar when the Burmese military surrendered in Kokang. The military junta is apparently under pressure from the CCP.
Since the end of October, the MNDAA has joined forces with the Arakan Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army in a coordinated offensive against the Burmese military junta.
The MNDAA was formerly a part of the Communist Party of Burma and historically has enjoyed significant support from the Chinese regime. Its current leader is Peng Daxun, whose father, Pheung Kya-shin, received training and military assistance from the CCP before founding the MNDAA.
The Burmese military junta recognized the autonomy of the Kokang region under the MNDAA in 1989 after years of conflict and turmoil, and Mr. Pheung became the leader of the Kokang region.
The Kokang region was essentially another authoritarian regime under Mr. Pheung and the MNDAA, which was backed by China.
In 2009, conflict broke out between the Burmese military and Mr. Pheung’s Kokang army, resulting in a split in Mr. Pheung’s camp. Mr. Pheung’s old alliances turned against him, and they defected to the Burmese military.
Mr. Pheung’s forces were defeated, and he retreated to China, where the CCP resettled him until his death in February 2022.
Mr. Pheung’s old allies became warlords controlling the Kokang region, engaging in criminal activities such as wire fraud and illegal gambling. The region was essentially a mafia state.
Currently, the MNDAA is led by Mr. Pheung’s son, Peng Daxun, and he is leading the MNDAA back to Myanmar from China to “eradicate the extortionist mafia” to reclaim his father’s territory.
On Oct. 27, he launched the military offensive on the Kokang region.
After the outbreak of the civil war in Myanmar, the CCP has repeatedly called for a ceasefire between the two sides. However, it is suspected that the MDNAA, which is well-armed and has won many victories on the battlefield, is backed by the CCP.
Xi Jinping’s Selected Works Studied
The day before the Burmese military surrendered in Kokang, a video was circulated online showing the MNDAA leader, Peng Deren, and dozens of officers studying Xi Jinping’s Selected Works.
The video shows an indoor meeting room with a banner reading “Learning from Xi Jinping’s Selected Works” in Simplified Chinese, flanked by flags of the MNDAA, and with Pang Deyen seated in the middle of the room. There were about 30 to 40 men, all dressed in military uniforms, seated around a long table.
The Kokang people in Myanmar are ethnically Han Chinese, so they all speak Mandarin. The video further confirms that the MNDAA maintains close ties with the CCP.
Attempt to Regain Influence
Myanmar is an important part of the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative, and in 2018, the CCP and Myanmar signed the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) agreement, which relates to China’s energy policy.
The CMEC planned to build a natural gas and crude oil pipeline between China and Myanmar. An important part of the CMEC is the Kyaukphyu Port and Special Economic Zone in Myanmar, which China acquired the right to operate in 2018. The port is located in the Indian Ocean and is the starting point for the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline.
At the same time, the CMEC also plans to build a railroad that would start in Yunnan, China, and run to the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone. However, sources indicate that progress on the corridor has been slow so far, upsetting the CCP.
Zhang Zheng (pseudonym), who is close to the top of the MNDAA, spoke to The Epoch Times and said that the CCP is behind the MNDAA’s return to Kokang.
“After Pheung Kya-shin was driven out of Kokang, the warlords that emerged in northern Myanmar were still under the influence of the CCP,” he said.
“However, in recent years, these warlords have become rich through online fraud and illegal gambling and have gradually become economically independent from the CCP.”
Mr. Zhang believes that as the CCP’s influence diminishes, the CCP is concerned that it will be at a disadvantage in its geopolitical games.
“CCP’s diminished influence in Myanmar has already affected China’s promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative in the country,” said Mr. Zhang. “Therefore, while the world is focused on the Israel-Hamas war, the CCP is supporting the [pro-China] Peng family to regain the northern part of the country so as to let the various forces in Myanmar realize that the CCP has absolute influence over Myanmar.”
The MNDAA issued a “Letter to the People of the Nation” on the day of the military offensive on Oct. 27. In the letter, they stated that they wanted to completely overthrow Myanmar’s military junta. It remains to be seen whether the MNDAA will continue to expand its offensive after taking control of Kokang.
