China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it has recently dispatched a team to Myanmar to oversee a ceasefire it brokered between the ruling military junta and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), indicating Beijing’s growing role in the country’s escalating civil conflict.

Myanmar has remained unstable since the military coup in 2021, which toppled an elected civilian government and triggered widespread protests. These demonstrations have since evolved into an armed resistance against the junta.

The MNDAA, a rebel group largely composed of ethnic Chinese fighters, captured a significant military base in Lashio—near the China-Myanmar border—last year during a series of offensives by opposition groups that have seized control of key territories from the military.

After negotiations held in Kunming, China, in January 2025, both sides agreed to a formal ceasefire with Beijing acting as mediator. Reports indicate that junta officials have recently returned to Lashio, and military vehicles have been spotted in the city, underscoring continued tensions despite the agreement.

Speaking on the development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated, “The two parties appreciate and thank China for its constructive role in safeguarding peace and stability in northern Myanmar. Going forward, China will continue to push forward the Kunming peace talks.”

The MNDAA is a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance—a coalition of rebel groups that launched a major offensive against the junta in late October 2023, seizing large swathes of land near the Chinese border and dealing serious blows to military control.

This ceasefire, however, is distinct from the broader peace initiative being promoted by ASEAN, the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc, which aims to establish a nationwide truce and facilitate greater humanitarian access. The need for aid has grown even more urgent following a powerful earthquake in Myanmar that recently claimed over 3,700 lives.