In a rare development in Myanmar, military junta-backed nationalists on November 19 took out a protest rally against China outside the Yangon City Hall and its embassy in
Yangon while accusing Beijing of backing an alliance of ethnic rebel groups which have attacked the military across the country’s North.
The nationalists who were carrying play cards and banners marked with anti-China slogans, attacked China for supplying weapons to the Brotherhood Alliance—made up of
the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army, The Irrawaddy, a news portal run by Burmese exiles in Thailand,
said. These nationalists belonging to the Patriotic Monks Union and Myanmar Nationalist Organisation raised anti-China slogans like “China, you have been meddling in the
internal affairs of Myanmar. Do not try to exploit us. We monks and people are going to beat you up.” “China, you have destroyed Myanmar by encouraging them. Do not destroy our country. We will all hit you back.”
In the ongoing Myanmar junta and China’s relations, it was the first time Beijing was openly accused by pro-military backers and that too in the presence of large public
gathering and the media, The Irrawaddy said. The Patriotic Monks Union and the Myanmar Nationalist Organisation, enjoying junta’s blessings, alleged that China was purchasing rare earth elements from the Kachin Independence Army, one of the ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar, at favourable prices.
Instead of giving a straight answer to Myanmar’s nationalists’ accusation, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said, “Since the conflict in northern Myanmar
broke out, China has been playing a constructive role in its own way. We have worked actively to encourage talks for peace, urge relevant parties in Myanmar to put people’s welfare first, stop the fighting as quickly as possible, resolve differences through dialogue and consultation and prevent the situation from escalating.”
Earlier, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing at a recent emergency meeting claimed that the ethnic alliance was using China-made drones to bomb military positions. This speaks
volumes of the junta’s frustration with China. The state-backed news outlet, the Global New Light has also accused Beijing of encouraging and arming the Brotherhood Alliance and the People’s Defence Force (PDF).
Launching their coordinated attack against Myanmar military, rebels under the banner of the Brotherhood Alliance started assaults on military bases, towns and settlements
across a swathe of Shan state that borders China’s Yunnan province to the North on October 27. Considered as a major offensive against the junta, Aljazeera said rebels, during that attack, not only overran more than 80 military outposts, but also took possession of large caches of military weapons and ammunition. A BBC report on November 22 said that rebels, buoyed by their successes, are continuing their offensive against the Myanmar military. They have also taken control of large swathes of the country’s areas bordering India, BBC said.
To the surprise of international watchers, some ethnic militia groups like the People’s Defence Force (PDF) which hitherto maintained low profile or preferred to strengthened
their control in bordering and far-flung areas in the North and the Northeast of the country, have also started attacking the military, taking advantage of setback suffered by
it in Shan state and other areas. Other ethnic rebel groups like the Karen National Union in South-East Myanmar, have also stepped-up operations against military positions along the key route to the Thai border.
What has surprised military analysts is the lack of Myanmar armed forces’ ability to resist rebel-led concerted action against them. In recent battles entire units of the army
have chosen to either surrender or flee. Reportedly suffering from low morale, recruitment difficulties and absence of quality military hardware, armed forces in Myanmar have failed to mount any kind of counterattack in Shan state. More than three weeks have passed since they lost the country’s northern state to the rebels, they have made no effort to retake it, suggesting categorically about their scrawny capacity.
According to BBC, Myanmar’s air force has around 40 transport helicopters, but not all are serviceable. Lack of spare parts and maintenance have rendered the majority of them unserviceable, resulting in stonewalling any attempt to move troops in strength around the country to counter rebels’ armed campaign.
However, for all the worrisome situation in Myanmar, China may be feeling happy as rebels have done what the military junta could not do for years on Beijing’s request to
take firm action on online scams that target Chinese citizens. Under its campaigns, the Brotherhood Alliance has also attacked and cleared off all dens of online scams and
trafficking in Myanmar’s North. It is alleged that under the protection of the military junta, online scammers were operating in areas bordering China.