Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said that stability and development in Myanmar’s border areas would be prioritised and the interests of neighbouring countries, including China, would not be harmed.

The comments were made to Den Xijun, the Chinese Special Envoy for Asian Affairs when they met privately, along with the junta Home Affairs Minister, General Yar Pyae, in Naypyidaw on 15 October, according to reports in the junta-affiliated media.

They also discussed the Myanmar Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA); Rakhine State and Rohingya refugees; and how China and Myanmar could cooperate to eliminate online fraud and gambling run from inside Myanmar.

After the meeting, Min Aung Hlaing said that the the junta and the Myanmar military are trying to restore peace in the country by following the NCA and China is helping by providing assistance with the NCA process.

Before the meeting, Den Xijun attended the junta’s celebrations to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the signing of the NCA, on 15 October 2015.

Recently the junta has been fighting ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and defence forces in areas of Shan and Kachin states bordering China.

There was fighting in Kachin State’s Laiza, an area controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), after junta troops attacked Mung Lai Hkyet IDP camp in Laiza on 9 October. As a result, on the Chinese side, the Chinese military has been conducting frequent security patrols in armoured vehicles, according to locals.

The attack on Mung Lai Hkyet IDP camp killed 29 IDPs, including 11 children and injured a further 57, according to the KIA.

On 14 October there was also fighting between the junta and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Laukkai Township, in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone, which borders China.

16 junta troops were killed in the fighting and the MNDAA seized many guns and much ammunition from the junta, according to an MNDAA report that Mizzima could not independently verify.