BEIJING: Beijing on Tuesday confirmed there had been Chinese casualties after ethnic armed groups fighting Myanmar’s junta seized outposts in the country’s north along the border with China.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin did not say whether the Chinese were killed or wounded, or where precisely the incident had taken place. Local media in Myanmar reported on Saturday that one Chinese person was killed and another two wounded after the military shelled the town of Laiza, home to the headquarters of ethnic armed group the Kachin Independence Army.

The reports said one shell had landed on the China side of the border.

On Tuesday, Wang said Beijing “expresses strong dissatisfaction with the escalation of the armed conflict and the casua-lties caused to Chinese personnel”.

China, he said, “has lodged solemn protest with relevant parties” and is “paying close attention to the conflict situation in northern Myanmar”. “China once again demands that all parties involved in the conflict in northern Myanmar immediately cease fire,” Wang said.

They must “take realistic measures to prevent any incidents that endanger the lives and property of people in China’s border areas from happening again”, he said.

Beijing, he said, would take “necessary measures to safeguard the lives and property of its citizens.” China has since last week expressed its concern over the escalating fighting near its border with Myanmar.

Senior Chinese diplomat Nong Rong visited the country from Friday to Sunday and met with senior junta officials over the weekend, urging Myan­mar to “cooperate” in main­taining stability on their shared border.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2023