Despite stern warnings from senior Chinese officials, Myanmar forces continue to take their fight against the Kokang rebels across the border.
As Myanmar’s armed forces continue their assault on the ethnic Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), damage continues to spill across the border into southwestern Yunnan province in China. As The Diplomat recently noted, a bomb dropped by a Myanmar Air Force MiG-29 landed in a sugarcane field in Yunnan, killing five Chinese. The incident led to sharp criticism from senior Chinese officials, and Myanmar indicated that it would investigate the incident and prevent its recurrence. Still, despite these assurances, there are reports of continued forays across the border by Myanmar forces. China, for its part, has deployed People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) jets to monitor the air space and repel any incursions by Myanmar forces.
Still, despite this incident and the ensuing rhetoric, the fighting continues to spill over the increasingly porous Myanmar-China border. Radio Free Asia reports that Yunnan authorities are investigating “a group of unexploded bombs that fell on the mountainous and rugged border with Myanmar.” According to the report, which was based off eyewitness reports, the bombs dropped at “around 4.00 p.m. local time outside Mengdui township near Yunnan’s Lincang city” on Saturday. The continued cross-border incursions will likely intensify the frustration of the Chinese government which has already issued several stern warnings to Myanmar.
Read the full story at The Diplomat