China has once again shown that it is the only outside power with the means, capacity, and motivation to intervene in Myanmar’s internal conflicts. In order to secure their China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which provides its landlocked southwestern provinces—and indeed the rest of the country—with an outlet to the Indian Ocean, the Chinese have managed to put an end to fighting in northern Shan State. The Kokang-based Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and its close ally, the Palaung Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), have halted their advances, and there will be no “march on Mandalay” or even Pyin Oo Lwin, which some observers predicted a year ago.
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