Myanmar military, ethnic armed groups reach ceasefire under China's mediation

With China's mediation and effort to drive progress, representatives of Myanmar's military and three ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar held peace talks in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, from Wednesday to Thursday and reached a formal ceasefire agreement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Friday.

Mao made the remarks when answering a relevant query. She said that representatives of the Myanmar military and the three ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar, namely the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, and the Arakan Army, held peace talks and officially reached a ceasefire agreement in Kunming.

The two sides agreed to implement the ceasefire immediately, the military personnel will disengage and the two sides will address relevant disputes and concerns through peaceful negotiation, said Mao.

She said that the two sides promised not to undermine the safety of Chinese people living in the border area and Chinese projects and personnel in Myanmar.

The two sides had consultations on ceasefire arrangement and other matters, she added.

"Maintaining the momentum of ceasefire and peace talks in northern Myanmar serves the interests of all parties in Myanmar and is conducive to keeping the China-Myanmar border area peaceful and stable," said Mao, adding that China hopes that relevant parties in Myanmar will earnestly implement the already reached ceasefire agreement, exercise maximum restraint toward each other, continue to address the issues through dialogue and consultation and together strive for progress in the peace process in northern Myanmar.

"China stands ready to continue to provide support and assistance to the best of our capability and play a constructive role to this end," Mao said.