China has no influence over Myanmar

Beijing’s sway over Myanmar may be too weak to deter the junta from launching fresh offensives against armed ethnic groups on its frontier with China, the International Crisis Group said in a new report.

Beijing’s sway over Myanmar may be too weak to deter the junta from launching fresh offensives against armed ethnic groups on its frontier with China, the International Crisis Group said in a new report.

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The group found Beijing’s influence over the generals who rule Myanmar is more brittle than many rights campaigners and Western diplomats assume.

Myanmar launched an army attack last month that overran Kokang, a territory on its border with China run by an ethnic Chinese militia that paid little heed to the central government.

The fighting pushed tens of thousands of refugees into neighbouring China, which has sought to send them back and prevent new fighting on the mountainous frontier.