Myanmar denies bombing inside China amid Beijing’s protest

AP
YANGON, MARCH 16

A senior Myanmar official on Sunday denied Chinese accusations that one of his country’s warplanes crossed China’s border and dropped a bomb that killed four farmers during fighting with Myanmar rebels. The official, from Myanmar’s presidential office, said his government regretted the deaths and suggested it could have been the work of a group seeking to create confusion. He also promised “full cooperation” with Beijing into the incident, which has tested generally good ties that have been strained in recent years by Myanmar’s perceived shift toward the U.S.
The farmers’ deaths Friday occurred as Myanmar’s government stepped up its fight against ethnic Chinese rebels in the country’s Kokang region along China’s southwestern border.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, cited radar and GPS records as proof that Myanmar fighter jets did not stray into Chinese territory. He also said Yangon always informs Beijing of its airstrikes in the border region beforehand.
Myanmar state television reported that Myanmar’s military and Chinese authorities began an investigation Sunday at the site of the incident.
Beijing strongly protested the bombing and said it had sent fighter jets to warn off further intrusion.
Geng Yansheng, spokesman for China’s National Defense Ministry, said Saturday that Myanmar warplanes had intruded “multiple times” and that China would take “decisive measures” should they cross over again.
Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, demanded that Yangon seriously investigate the incident, punish those responsible and apologize to the victims’ families, according to a statement on the Defense Ministry’s website.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called the bombing a “very distressful matter.” Speaking at a news conference after the close of China’s annual legislature in Beijing, he said China was able to “firmly safeguard stability in the border areas.”
The Myanmar official said Yangon would extend “full cooperation” with Beijing and wanted to examine the bomb fragments found in China.
Beijing has disavowed any links with the Kokang rebels in Myanmar, saying it respects Myanmar’s sovereignty. Myanmar officials have said former Chinese soldiers have trained the rebels, an allegation the insurgents have denied.
Myanmar officials blame the renewed fighting on a renegade rebel faction led by Phone Kya Shin that attempted to seize Laukkai, the capital of the self-administered Kokang region.

Yangon expresses `sorrow` for China border deaths

Myanmar expressed “sorrow” Monday after a bomb dropped across the border during clashes with rebel forces killed five farm workers on Chinese territory in an incident sharply condemned by Beijing.
It announced a probe into the blast, which went off in China`s southwestern Yunnan province and prompted Beijing to send fighter jets to patrol the frontier, but stopped short of admitting responsibility for the incident after weeks of clashes between the Myanmar army and ethnic Kokang rebels. “We would like to express our deep sorrow for death and injuries of Chinese nationals living in border areas,” Myanmar`s government said in a statement published in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
It added that a joint investigation would be conducted into the incident with Beijing, which has blamed the blast on a Myanmar warplane.
The probe will also look into whether Kokang rebels were involved to “create instability along the border”, the report said, adding that the military had been instructed to maintain its operations within the territory of Myanmar.
The conflict in Myanmar`s remote Kokang region in northeastern Shan state sparked suddenly last month after six years of relative calm, causing tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes, including at least 30,000 who have poured into Yunnan. China has sent its jets to patrol the border to “warn and chase away” its neighbour`s warplanes following the deadly blast in the sugarcane field during which a further eight people were injured.
On Sunday Chinese Premier Li Keqiang vowed to “resolutely” protect citizens near its Myanmar border in his once-a-year meeting with journalists.
Beijing has provided a crucial economic and political shield for the former Myanmar junta during its years of isolation. But while Chinese investment remains paramount, Myanmar`s new quasi-civilian government has sought to build greater ties with other countries including the United States since launching political reforms in 2011.