China has condemned an attack on its consulate in Mandalay in the central north of Myanmar late on Friday, which is likely linked to the country’s ramped up support for the unpopular military regime.
A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday the country had lodged “serious representations” with authorities in Myanmar and urged them to make every effort to arrest the perpetrators.
It follows an apparent grenade attack on the consulate in the country’s second largest city at around 7pm local time, which damaged the roof of the two-storey building but is not thought to have caused any deaths or injuries, according to exile media outlets.
Security forces are investigating the incident in a bid to arrest the “terrorists” responsible for the blast, according to a military statement sent to media outlets on Saturday, AP reported.
Lin Jian, a foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing, confirmed on Monday that a blast occurred at the consulate, saying “China expresses its deep shock at the attack and sternly condemns it”.
“China has made stern representations to the Myanmar side,” Lin said, according to Reuters.
Myanmar has endured three and half years of bitter conflict that has left thousands dead in many parts of the country, destroying the local economy and displacing more than three million citizens since the military ousted a new government led by Aung San Suu Kyi just before it was due to take office in February 2021.
Beijing may fear junta collapse
The latest incident could well be a warning to Beijing, which is seen to have increased its support for the Burmese military in recent months amid possible concern about Myanmar’s domestic turmoil and the increasing power of some ethnic armed groups.
Beijing ramped up arms shipments to the junta, delivering a second batch of six FTC-2000G fighter jets in August, according to a VoA report. The planes are blamed for prolonging the civil war and causing huge civilian suffering, with casualties throughout the north.
China appears to be worried about the government that could emerge if the Myanmar military collapses, given the junta has lost control of about 90 towns and large regional bases, largely in the ethnic ‘horseshoe’ across the country’s north, as resistance forces move closer to Mandalay.
Multiple reports suggest China fears a downfall of the junta could harm its interests, jeopardising its access to the Indian Ocean, via projects at such as the oil and gas pipelines from Yunnan down to Kyauk Phyu port in western Rakhine state.
A report by Myanmar Now on October 8 cited a “leaked document” which quoted China’s Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun reportedly saying that neither the opposition National Unity Government or the National League for Democracy can “replace the military’s role” in Myanmar.
Deng allegedly told leaders of the United Wa State Army in late August that China would not accept a collapse of the regime or victory by the resistance, which it deems to be “close to Western countries.”
And now there are reports that Myanmar’s senior general Min Aung Hlaing is preparing for a visit to Beijing for talks with Premier Li Qiang.
“The attack suggests that any increase in Chinese support, even if that support still stops short of an active intervention in Myanmar’s conflict, will be marked by a parallel deterioration of China’s reputation and image among the bulk of the population that opposes the military junta,” author Sebastian Strangio said in a report on Monday.
And that was despite the fact the NUG has gone out of its way to say it does not oppose Chinese interests in Myanmar and would respect them if it eventually takes power.
