A rebel group in Myanmar announced that it has signed a ceasefire with the country's military-led government following talks mediated by China. The Ta'ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, is one of three ethnic armed groups that last year expanded their control in Shan state, a central battleground in the ongoing civil war that pits such groups against Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw. The TNLA has now agreed to withdraw from two towns they had captured while the Tatmadaw agreed to "stop its ground offensives and airstrikes on the group's remaining territories," the Associated Press reported.

In the wake of rebel gains last year that severely destabilized Myanmar's junta, China decided to intervene in August 2024 "to stave off the complete disintegration of the regime," providing military equipment and putting diplomatic pressure on rebel groups to cease their attacks, we wrote in the Daily Review earlier this month. And as Michael Hart reported for WPR in December, China's pressure campaign was a key factor in pushing the conflict toward a stalemate.