China-Myanmar vow more trade, security cooperation

YANGON, Apr 26: China and Myanmar have pledged to expand trade and security ties, especially along their border, during talks in the Southeast Asian nation with its junta chief-turned-president and both countries' top diplomats, the two governments said.

China's Wang Yi has been on a three-country visit to Southeast Asia, travelling to Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar this week, seeking to strengthen ties and present Beijing as a more stable alternative to Washington.

China will "firmly support" Myanmar in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security, Wang told Myanmar's leader Min Aung Hlaing during a meeting in the capital Naypyidaw on Saturday, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.

"As this year marks the first year of the new Myanmar government's tenure, both sides should seize this opportunity to carry forward and promote their traditional friendship," Wang said.

Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as president this month, continuing his rule from a civilian post five years after snatching power in a military coup that sparked the ongoing civil war.

The parliamentary ceremony where he was sworn in was attended by more than 20 foreign representatives including from China, which analysts say was the junta-backed election's biggest supporter.

Democracy watchdogs have described the tightly controlled election that concluded in January as an effort to rebrand military rule, with voting not taking place in swaths of the country controlled by rebels who are fighting the military and rejected the poll.

Over the past year, there have been signs the military is on the front foot -- with a string of moderate victories thanks largely to China-backed truces with ethnic minority rebels along their shared border.�"AFP