Amid fierce fighting in the towns of Bhamo and Mansi in Kachin State, Chinese authorities and a group led by Kachin Independence Organization (KIA/KIO) chairman General N Bang La have been holding talks in China since December 8, KIO press and information officer Colonel Naw Bu said today.
“Yes, I went yesterday. We usually meet once a month or two. I don’t know what we will discuss, but we have already gone.” He did not know who the Chinese authorities were at the meeting or where the meeting took place. After the KIA attacked and captured all border posts in Kachin State last November, China closed the border gates, halting all border trade in Kachin.
In August this year, China’s Foreign Ministry’s Special Representative for Asia, Mr. Teng Shih Qing met with a delegation led by Kachin Independence Organization (KIA/KIO) Vice Chairman Du Wa Gam Shao. Kachin political analyst Ko Shebat said that the meeting could be a pressure to stabilize the border area, open border trade gates, and keep a distance from Western countries.
“What I see is mainly three things. The first is that they are talking about stabilizing the border area. The second is that there are border trade gates along the border between Kachin State and China that are closed to each other. So we can discuss how to find solutions to these issues and how to proceed. And I think it is a warning situation to keep a distance from Western countries so that aid does not reach the Chinese border.”
Since early October, rare earth mining towns such as Chipwe and Sawh Law, as well as border towns such as Panwa, After taking control of the towns of Kanpaiti and Kachin. The KIA is now attacking the provincial capital of Bhamo. This year alone, the KIA has controlled 13 towns in Kachin and northern Shan states.
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