TNLA warns Myanmar junta may gain advantage at Kunming talks as battles intensify

Brigadier General Tar Bhone Kyaw, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), has warned that the junta could gain the upper hand at the Kunming Dialogue on 17 February. The talks were arranged with China’s involvement. He also noted that ground clashes have escalated.

“The agreement with the MNDAA [Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army] is already in place, giving the Military Council leverage in the talks. Meanwhile, military offensives have intensified in Taung Kham, Nawnghkio, and Thabeikkyin,” he said.

Brigadier General Tar Phone Kyaw posted on social media on 16 February that Su-30 fighter jets, along with Y-8 and Y-12 aircraft, were flying over Nawnghkio, Kyaukme, Mogok, and Moemeik, conducting aerial bombings. He pointed out that the dialogue is taking place despite Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.