Ten injured by airstrikes across Rakhine State in one day; Chinese Foreign Minister to visit Myanmar

Ten injured by airstrikes across Rakhine State in one day

Residents in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township told DVB that at least 10 civilians were injured during multiple airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force in Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, and Mrauk-U townships, located 20-88 miles (32-141 km) north and northeast of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, on Sunday. Two to five regime jet fighters carried out each attack.

Zin Yaw, a military defector who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) following the 2021 coup, told DVB that the Burma Air Force is using a “time-on-target tactic” since Ye Win Oo became commander-in-chief on March 30. This is when multiple aircrafts attack one target simultaneously. He added that using this tactic against non-military targets in Arakan’s 14 townships, as well as Chin State’s Paletwa Township, under Arakan Army (AA) control aims to spread fear among the public and save jet fuel.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that a Chinese delegation will meet with the AA at an undisclosed location and date to discuss resuming the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) — a major Belt and Road Initiative project connecting China’s Yunnan Province to Burma’s Kyaukphyu port, located 317 miles (510 km) south of Sittwe. The project, halted in 2021, was signed between Beijing and Naypyidaw in 2018.

Chinese Foreign Minister to visit Myanmar

A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson announced on Tuesday that its Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will visit Cambodia, Thailand and Burma April 22-26. The exact dates of his visit to each country wasn’t disclosed.

This will be Wang Yi’s third visit to Burma since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. He met with regime leader Min Aung Hlaing during his last visit to Naypyidaw in August 2024. He visited Mandalay Region’s Bagan town for a meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation group, which includes Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, in July 2022.

Min Aung Hlaing, inaugurated as Burma’s president by the pro-military parliament on April 10 following highly controversial elections that ended on Jan. 25, will likely pay a visit to China as head of state in May. Beijing has congratulated Min Aung Hlaing for his ascension to the presidency following the military’s 2025-26 elections, which were reportedly called for during a meeting between Min Aung Hlaing and President Xi Jinping.