Myanmar military denies junta chief detained by generals

This handout photo from Myanmar’s Military Information Team taken and released on January 31, 2023 shows Myanmar’s military chief Min Aung Hlaing making a speech during a defense and security council meeting in Naypyidaw. Agence France-Presse

YANGON — Myanmar’s military on Wednesday said rumors top generals had detained the embattled junta chief in a new coup were “propaganda” spread by “traitors” ahead of a visit by China’s foreign minister.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has faced public criticism from military supporters in recent weeks as government troops lose territory to ethnic minority armed groups and other opponents battling to overturn its 2021 coup.

On Tuesday several social media posts claimed that top generals had detained Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw in a bid to change the junta’s top leadership.

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The claims were “propaganda… with the aim of disrupting the country’s peace and stability,” the junta said in a statement, accusing those sharing the news of being “traitors”.

“The head of state and authorities are fulfilling their national responsibility together,” it said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is due to arrive in Myanmar on Wednesday for talks with Min Aung Hlaing.

The visit is “aimed at deepening bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields,” an unnamed Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

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China is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta but analysts say it also maintains ties with ethnic armed groups that hold territory near its border.

In recent weeks an alliance of ethnic armed groups has seized territory from the junta in northern Shan state, which borders China’s Yunnan province.

Territory captured includes the military’s northeastern command in the Shan state town of Lashio, home to about 150,000 people.

The capture of the regional command — the first by opponents of the junta since the military’s 2021 coup — sparked rare public criticism of the top generals by its supporters.

Min Aung Hlaing later said the alliance was receiving weapons, including drones and short-range missiles, from “foreign” sources that he did not identify.

The last top Chinese official to visit the isolated junta was former foreign minister Qin Gang, who held talks with Min Aung Hlaing in May last year.

According to a senior Myanmar military official Wang Yi will not meet Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by the military since it seized power.