MYANMAR’S military has reached a ceasefire agreement with an alliance of ethnic minority guerilla groups it has been battling in the country’s north-east, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today. 

The agreement was brokered at talks mediated by China on Wednesday and Thursday in Kunming, a Chinese provincial capital about 250 miles from the border with Myanmar, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

“China hopes the relevant parties in Myanmar can conscientiously implement the agreement, exercise maximum restraint toward each other and solve the issues through dialogue and consultations,” she said at a daily briefing in Beijing.

Major General Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson of Myanmar’s ruling military council, said the two sides had met in Kunming and after talks, agreed on a temporary ceasefire agreement.

He said: “We will continue discussions. We will continue to work for the strengthening of the ceasefire.”

A previous ceasefire pact reached in mid-December was not honoured by either side.

Ms Mao said: “The two sides promised not to undermine the safety of Chinese people living in the border area and Chinese projects and personnel in Myanmar.”

Myanmar has been wracked by violence that began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.