NAYPYITAW – The President of military-ruled Myanmar has said the country is at risk of breaking apart due to ineffective management of recent violence in its border regions with China.

Myanmar’s junta is facing the biggest challenge to its authority since it gained power in a 2021 coup, with attacks by revolutionary and ethnic armed forces on hundreds of junta bases in the north, north-east, north-west and south-east of the country.

“If the government does not effectively manage the incidents happening in the border region, the country will be split into various parts,” Mr Myint Swe, president of the State Administration Council, told a national defence and security council meeting.

“It is necessary to carefully control this issue,” he said.

“As now is an important time for the state, the entire people need to support the Tatmadaw (the military).”

The military has, for decades, insisted that it is the only institution capable of holding the diverse former British colony together, using that argument to justify its grip on power and to crush opposition.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 coup, when the generals ousted an elected government, led by democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, bringing an end to 10 years of tentative reform after decades of strict military rule.

In the north-east in recent days, the junta has lost control of some border trade towns with China.

The Chinese government also confirmed this week that there had been Chinese casualties due to military ordnance going over the border.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged its citizens to stay away from areas with “fierce conflicts” and avoid travelling to Myanmar.

“Chinese citizens who have already been in the local areas of intense conflict should pay close attention to the development of the situation and move to safety or return to China,” the ministry said in a statement.

China has extensive economic interests in Myanmar.

China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong called on Myanmar, during a visit last week, to cooperate with China to maintain border stability.

He also asked for measures to protect Chinese interests. REUTERS