Another ethnic militia leader, who travelled to China "for medical treatment," was held to get armed groups in northern Myanmar to hand over the city of Lashio to Myanmar’s military junta. In this case, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) has been in a long fight with the military for the control of the city of Bhamo, a strategic hub for the rare earth trade. Meanwhile, other militias accuse India of bombing Myanmar territory.

Yangon (AsiaNews) – A spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Colonel Naw Bu, has denied that the movement's political leader has been placed under house arrest in China.

Yet, this appears to be a practice already used by China against other ethnic groups to convince the KIA to abandon its offensive against the military junta in Bhamo, Kachin State, in the far north of Myanmar.

Naw Bu explained that General N'Ban La, head of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, “goes to China every two months for medical check-ups” and is expected back soon.

According to various recent international media reports, China has also threatened to halt purchases of rare earths mined in areas controlled by the KIA if its offensive continues.

Naw Bu dismissed the claim, saying that, “China has continuously called for a truce and negotiations – this is not new. But I haven’t heard about it threatening to stop purchasing rare earth minerals”.

Rare earths are mined primarily in the Chipwi and Pangwa areas, which the KIA conquered in October 2023. Pangwa is a strategic hub bordering China, where minerals are exported for processing in that country.

Bilateral trade is going as usual, Naw Bu reiterated. In reality, after seizing the mines, the KIA imposed higher taxes on miners and cut production, causing exports to China to drop by 50 per cent in the first five months of 2025.

Disrupting trade in Bhamo could lead to a shortage in the global market by the end of the year, with a consequent increase in prices even outside China.

This is not the first time that China – which backs Myanmar’s ruling junta but also talks with the resistance – detains a political leader to apply pressure; last October, Peng Deren (also known as Peng Daxun), head of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), was held in China for "medical treatment”.

After his release, the MNDAA relinquished control of the city of Lashio, handing it back to the Myanmar military, which seized power in 2021, sparking the country’s civil war.

Fighting between the military and forces allied with the KIA around the town of Bhamo, located less than 100 kilometres from the Chinese border, has been ongoing for months.

Daily clashes also occur in the Hpakant area, Myanmar's largest jade mining centre, where the army is attempting to regain ground. China is the main buyer of both rare earth elements and jade.

Several observers believe that Beijing's strategy toward ethnic militias is to provide economic incentives rather than conduct direct repression. China, along with Russia and, to some extent, India, is the main arms supplier to Myanmar’s military junta.

The military is also attempting to advance in other areas of the country. In Shan State, it has reached some areas controlled by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), a militia that fought alongside the MNDAA to capture Lashio, but with which it has also recently clashed over the administration of the northern territories.

China also asked the TNLA to lay down its arms against the junta, but the latter refused pledging  to defend the city of Nawnghkio, which is strategically located on the road connecting Mandalay – an important city in the centre of the country and controlled by the junta—to the northern territories bordering China, under militia control.

The TNLA reported that intense fighting is ongoing in the area between its forces and the junta's troops.

On the other side of the country, the situation is complicated by Indian intervention.

A separatist group known as the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), active primarily in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, yesterday reported an airstrike by India against some of its camps in Myanmar.

According to the group, the attack, which included more than 100 Chinese- and Israeli-made drones, killed at least three senior commanders and injured 19 others.

A second statement, released yesterday afternoon, reported that during the funeral of Nayan Asom, one of the slain leaders, another missile strike struck the area, killing two more commanders.

The Indian army has officially denied any involvement, but confidential sources cited by the Indian press have emphasised that the attack not only targeted ULFA-I camps, but also other armed groups banned by the Indian government, most notably the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

India claims that the Myanmar jungles have long served as strategic bases for rebels active in Assam and Nagaland, who aim to establish an independent state in northeastern India.

In May, India was accused of killing 10 men belonging to one of Myanmar's anti-coup militias on the border with the Indian state of Manipur, another region long beset by violent ethnic conflict.

The Indian government had spoken of armed extremists, but local residents slammed New Delhi's actions, saying that the fighters were part of a resistance force tasked with protecting civilians from armed attacks by Myanmar’s junta.

• myanmar
• china
• india
• civil war
• rare earths
• militias
• resistance
• military