Myanmar Spring Chronicle – July 11 Scenes
MoeMaKa, July 12, 2023
ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting & Myanmar issue; Military council’s camp in Taingen, Chin State attacked
On July 11, ASEAN Foreign Ministers and Representatives of regional powers will attend the ASEAN meeting in Indonesia to discuss the armed conflict and political crisis in Myanmar. It remains to be seen what kind of statement, pressure or urge will emerge from the meeting. The Foreign Minister of Indonesia, which is the current rotating chair, said that they had held 110 discussions with organizations involved in the Myanmar issue in 7 months, and that they are trying to create conditions for dialogue to stop violence. The fact that the ASEAN 5 has not been able to implement even after two years has led many to conclude that the military council has not cooperated, and the ASEAN will continue to strive in this direction.
Former NUG Foreign Minister Daw Zin Mar Aung said in an interview with the media that the current situation is not in a position where dialogue can take place and that the NUG is putting pressure on the military council in various ways to get on the path of dialogue.
The Myanmar issue will definitely be included in the ASEAN meeting, but it will not be the top priority. It seems that the disputed South China Sea maritime property of Southeast Asia will be the main issue to be discussed. There is no major difference of opinion between China and the United States regarding the Myanmar issue, and they generally agree to support the ASEAN-led solution. As for China, it can be seen that using its influence, it is making separate efforts to bring the ethnic armed groups based in the border areas with China to the path of dialogue and the path of reducing armed conflict. On the other hand, it is understood that the plan to provide non-lethal aid to the anti-military council forces in the Myanmar issue contained in the US national defense budget NDAA has not yet reached the stage of implementation on the ground and is still being prepared.
PDF forces and some members of the National Unity Government are saying that the armed method is the only way to overthrow the military dictators. Also, there are organizations and international governments that are trying to get the military council on the path of diplomacy and dialogue.
While ASEAN is discussing the issue of Myanmar, incidents of people fleeing due to armed conflicts, fighting or the raids of the military council’s column are still happening everywhere in Myanmar.
Early this morning, some anti-military council armed forces from Chin State attacked the military council camp in Taingen village, which is a crossroads village on the road to Kalay, Tedim and Hakha. There were casualties on both sides, and Chin armed forces’ reported many casualties on the military council side. The exact number of deaths on the side of the military council cannot be confirmed in the news, but it appears that 4 casualties were reported from the Chin Defense Force. It is also said that the military council attacked with air support.
In Chin State, the road is the only option for city-to-city transportation, and it is an easy position to intercept and attack if the military council troops are reinforced by the roads that are paved through the mountains due to the geographical position. Apart from air support, there have been many incidents in the past few months and years where military council troops were intercepted while transporting food and weapons by land.
While the Chin defense forces are attacking the outposts of the military council in Chin State, in other regions of Myanmar, such as Nam Sang Yan, which is only 10 miles away from Laiza in Kachin State, the military council troops and the KIA are fighting, as are the tensions between the TNLA and the military council troops in Nyaunglebin, Kyainseikgyi, and Kyaukme Township in northern Shan State.