Recently, there has been a lot of movement on the border, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has conducted a large-scale military exercise on the Yunnan border, which is scheduled for 34 hours from 8 a.m. on April 2 to 6 p.m. on April 3. Prior to this, the Chinese ambassador to Myanmar had also specially talked with the head of the Burmese military, General Min Nai, hoping to resolve the border dispute calmly. But on the day the military exercise ended, a deputy minister of Myanmar was arrested, and he was still involved in the wire fraud gang.
Speaking of which, this place in northern Myanmar has always been unpeaceful, especially since Bai Suocheng and Wei Chaoren, the leaders of the "Four Families", were escorted to Kunming, where it was quiet for a while, and the internal contradictions in Myanmar have not been resolved, and the fighting and killing between the government army and the militia continues.
At the same time, as soon as the artillery fire of the military exercise subsided, the news on April 3 was surprising. On the Myanmar side, it was suddenly reported that Deputy Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Aung Lim Thun had been detained because of collusion with the Lao Cai wire fraud gang. This is not a small matter, and it has not been a day or two since the wire fraud gang has been rampant and domineering in Myanmar, and this time it has actually brought out the deputy minister of national defense.
Major General Aung Linton had always been a good soldier and had never missed military meetings, but at a recruitment meeting shortly before his arrest, he did not come. This abnormal behavior has caused a lot of waves in Myanmar, and the Burmese media have begun to suspect that this major general is the umbrella of the wire fraud gang.
Interestingly, despite Aung Lington's arrest, his position is still in place, and the Myanmar military has not found anyone to replace him. What does this mean? It shows that this matter is not so simple, either the Myanmar military is still waiting, or Aung Linton has a bigger backer behind him.
Speaking of Aung Limton's origins, he became deputy minister three months after Min Aung Hlaing's coup d'état, and was a division commander before that. He can't be the only one involved in the affairs involved in this deputy minister, and those local emperors can run rampant in the Kokang area for so many years, and they must not be able to support it by Aung Lintun as a deputy minister.
However, the key point of this incident does not seem to be all about Aung Linton, but about the PLA's military exercises. This military exercise is not a drill, but more like a demonstration of determination and strength to all potential hostile forces, especially those criminals who have made small moves along the border.
As soon as the news of the military exercise came out, not only Myanmar, but also people in China realized that this military exercise was not ordinary. After all, this is not done in some remote desert, it is on the Sino-Burmese border, which has always been an eventful place. As everyone knows, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) did not go there for tourism this time, but they were conducting drills there with real guns and ammunition, which is rare in normal times.
The timing of this military exercise is also very particular, and it is not a random choice. Shortly after the ambassador spoke with the representative of the Burmese army, Lieutenant General Min Nai, the PLA began the exercises. Everyone understands that this is silently sending a message: we want peace, and we are ready to deal with anything.
This hard-line attitude has also put pressure on the Myanmar side. After all, no one wants to be tough with the PLA. Similarly, the news of the arrest of Major General Aung Linton is more like a bombshell dropped in this tense atmosphere. This makes the already complex situation in northern Myanmar even more confusing.
The case of Aung Lington also reflects some problems within Myanmar. He is a deputy minister, and he can be implicated in the criminal fraud, which shows that there may be a lot of problems within the Myanmar military. His arrest has also raised doubts about whether Myanmar can solve these deep-seated problems on its own.
For our country, the stability of this border is of paramount importance. When the People's Liberation Army conducts military exercises in border areas, this is for deterrence, but also for prevention. After all, we don't want the fire over there to reach our doorstep.
The meeting between Ambassador Chen Hai and Lieutenant General Min Nai is also clearly hoped to prompt the Myanmar military to take more active action to stabilize the situation through diplomatic channels. Under this combination of international and domestic pressure, it is unclear what kind of response the Myanmar military will make.
In short, this turmoil on the border is related to Myanmar and also affects our nerves. Behind the PLA's military exercises and Aung Linton's arrest, these seemingly unrelated events are actually staging a contest between major powers and a regional power struggle. In this big chess game, the position of each chess piece may cause new waves. This game is far from over.