By Shannon Tiezzi
Myanmar’s government accepted responsibility for a bomb that killed five Chinese citizens.
On March 13, a bomb fell on a sugarcane field in China’s Yunnan province, just across the border from Myanmar. The explosion killed five Chinese villagers and injured eight others. Beijing immediately blamed the Myanmar Air Force for the bombing and promised China’s own military would take “resolute action” to defend its citizens from harm. Myanmar’s government has been fighting Kokang rebels in the northeast since February 2015.
On April 2, Myanmar’s foreign minister, U Wunna Maung Lwin, officially apologized for the bombing, “On behalf of the Myanmar government and military, I officially apologize to China and express my deep sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured,” he told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
Previously, Myanmar’s government had previously suggested that Kokang rebels were responsible for the deadly mistake. In a statement published by the Global New Light of Myanmar, the government expressed “deep sorrow for (the) death and injuries of Chinese nationals,” but shied away from taking the blame. Instead, the government said rebel forces might have launched the bomb. “(A) thorough investigation will also be made whether the Kokang insurgent group is involved in this incident,” the statement said, suggesting the rebels might have wished “to have a negative impact on the friendship between Myanmar and China and to create instability along the border area.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat