Leader of rebel army detained in China’s Yunnan province

By RFA Burmese2024.11.18

The leader of an ethnic rebel army was being held under house arrest in China’s Yunnan province in the latest move by Beijing to pressure it to withdraw from Lashio, northern Shan state’s biggest city, a source close to the army told Radio Free Asia.

The insurgent Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, captured the junta’s military headquarters in Lashio in July. In August, it took full control of the town, which serves as an important commercial gateway near the Chinese border.

The MNDAA’s leader, Peng Daxun, traveled to Yunnan province in late October for medical treatment and was later detained by Chinese authorities, according to the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons.

“He is under detention to negotiate withdrawal of his troops from Lashio,” the source said.

The detention followed a meeting in Yunnan in late October between Peng Daxun and Deng Xijun, the special representative for Asian Affairs at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, according to another source.

A source close to the military junta regime told RFA that Peng Daxun was being held at a hotel in Yunnan that’s owned by his father.

China’s interests

The MNDAA is part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a group of three ethnic minority insurgent forces that launched its highly effective Operation 1027 offensive in October 2023, which has since captured vast swathes of junta-held territory.

A renewal of the offensive in June led to the capture of the junta’s northeastern command headquarters near Lashio – the only one of 14 such regional military command headquarters to fall into rebel hands.

The MNDAA took control of Lashio on Aug. 3, one of the most significant victories for the three-party alliance. Junta efforts to recapture the town have focused on frequent airstrikes and shelling.

China has since tried to protect its interests in the region by brokering several temporary ceasefires between the junta and alliance members.

On Aug. 27, Deng Xijun invited Zhao Guo-ang, the vice-chairman of the United Wa State Party – Myanmar’s largest ethnic army – to Yunnan province to ask for help pressuring for the withdrawal of MNDAA forces.

The UWSA vowed last year to remain neutral as the Three Brotherhood Alliance began its large-scale operation against junta forces. But in July, its troops entered Lashio without incident after MNDAA forces had taken over most of the city.

China has also cut off shipments of fuel, medicine and food items through its border into the MNDAA-controlled areas in Shan state.

In September, the MNDAA said it had cut ties with Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government. It said it would work with China to bring peace, but days later the junta bombed Lashio and peace talks never took place.

Beijing has recently stepped up its support for the military junta, and earlier this month, junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing traveled to Kunming – the capital of Yunnan – for talks with provincial officials.

RFA has reached out via email to the Chinese Embassy in Yangon and the MNDAA’s information team for comments but neither immediately responded.

Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed.