Myanmar, China conduct joint drills as border tensions grow

Myanmar Navy officers (right) welcome Chinese Navy officers. Pic/AP

Myanmar and China are conducting naval drills together as the military government in the Southeast Asian nation loses ground in its northeast border region to a coalition of militias that also has strong ties to Beijing.

State-run Myanma Alinn newspaper said Wednesday that three Chinese vessels were anchored in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, and that officials from both nations met Tuesday to discuss the maritime security exercises.

The Chinese vessels - the destroyer Zibo, frigate Jing Zhou and supply ship Qian Dao Hu - carry about 700 sailors and arrived at the Myanmar port Monday. The report didn't give more details on the drills.

Myanmar's military seized power from an elected government in 2021 and since has been in armed conflict with pro-democracy forces and ethnic militias. The visit of the Chinese vessels comes during an upsurge in violence on Myanmar's border with China by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a group of militias that launched a coordinated offensive against the ruling military on October 27.

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