Nepal, Aug. 27 -- In a surprise move, on August 18, the Myanmar military junta, known as Tatmadaw, announced that it will hold the first phase of elections in December this year while lifting the state of emergency imposed since it took power. Since last year, the Tatmadaw has been asking the armed group to abandon their resistance to participate in the election, which has been rejected by the Ethnic Armed Organisation (EAO). The junta, which assumed power in 2021 after the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a party it supported, lost the election, has been facing a military debacle posed by the Armed Ethnic group of Three Brotherhood Alliance (TBA).

China and the TBA

Though the junta held ground in Rakhine state, it ceded t...