A Taiwan national flag flutters near the Taipei 101 building at the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 7, 2023. Taiwan said Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 that China sent 43 military aircraft and seven ships near the self-ruled island, the latest sign that Beijing plans no let-up in its campaign of harassment, threats and intimidation.
| Photo Credit: AP

Taiwan said Wednesday that China sent 43 military aircraft and seven ships near the self-ruled island, the latest sign that Beijing plans no let-up in its campaign of harassment, threats and intimidation.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the figure was current for the 24 hours up to 6:00 a.m. Wednesday and that 37 of the aircraft had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which China no longer recognizes as an informal divider between the sides.

It said Taiwan had monitored the situation, scrambled jet fighters, dispatched ships and activated land-based missile systems, all standard responses to Chinese military activities, which include crossing into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone but not into its actual airspace.

Such Chinese maneuvers have become frequent and aggressive since then- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. China suspended military communication with the U.S. to show its displeasure over her trip to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory to be brought under under its control by force if necessary.

China’s military maneuvers are seen as intended to break down Taiwanese morale, exhausting its pilots and other personnel and wearing down its equipment. Despite that, the present status of de-facto independence remains widely popular among the island’s voters and the defense budget has been increased to purchase new equipment from the U.S., its chief ally, and to produce some items locally, including submarines.

At an international defense forum in Beijing on Monday, China’s second-ranking military official Gen. Zhang Youxia reiterated threats by the Chinese government to retaliate against moves toward establishing Taiwan’s formal independence, saying that “no matter who tries to split Taiwan from China in any form, China and the Chinese military will never allow that to happen.”

Zhang, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, which oversees the world’s largest standing military, opened the three-day event in the absence of former Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, who would have normally hosted the event.

Li was removed from his position last week after a two-month absence from public view. The government has not provided any reason for his removal.

The Beijing event, attended by military representatives from dozens of countries, was an occasion for China to project regional leadership and boost military cooperation. That comes despite frictions with the U.S., with Japan over an uninhabited East China Sea island group, with its Southeast Asian neighbors over China’s claim to virtually the entire South China and with India along their disputed border.

But in a sign that Washington and Beijing were considering a possible resumption of military dialogue, the U.S. was represented at the forum by a delegation led by Cynthia Carras, the Defense Department’s leading official on China. As of Wednesday, it appeared she had departed without holding any formal meetings with Chinese officials or speaking to the media.

Myanmar’s military launched a second day of air strikes on Wednesday, bombing territory controlled by an ethnic armed group on the border with China, a rebel spokesman told AFP.

The strikes come as the military battles an alliance of armed groups across a northern region that is home to Chinese investment and where the junta says it has lost ground.

A military jet struck a site near the town of Laiza in Kachin state at 12:45 p.m. local time (0615 GMT), Kachin Independence Army (KIA) spokesman Colonel Naw Bu told AFP.

He said there were no details yet on casualties from the strike, adding that it came a day after a jet dropped three bombs on Laiza, killing one person and wounding twelve others.

On Tuesday soldiers and officers were killed when the KIA attempted to seize a major road in Kachin state, according to the junta-controlled Global Light of New Myanmar newspaper.

The military said it had carried out an “appropriate counterattack” without giving details.

The “neighbouring country had been warned in advance”, it said.

In the neighbouring northern Shan state, thousands of people have been reportedly displaced after three other ethnic armed groups launched coordinated attacks on the junta last Friday.

Shan is home to oil and gas pipelines that supply China and a planned billion-dollar rail link, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road global infrastructure project.

On Tuesday China’s Minister for Public Security met junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw, Myanmar state media said, for a second day of talks with top junta officials about the clashes.

They discussed attacks by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) ethnic armed group “on security camps… with attempts to deteriorate peace and stability in the region”, the Global New Light said.

The MNDAA, along with the Arakan Army (AA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) say they have seized sections of key roads to China — Myanmar’s biggest trade partner — since the beginning of their Friday offensive.

On Wednesday the groups said they were in “complete control” of Chinshwehaw town on the China border and Hsenwi, which sits on the road to the China border.

The junta did not immediately respond to questions about whether it still controls the towns.

AFP was unable to reach residents in Hsenwi and in Hopang township, about 10 kilometres from Chinshwehaw.

The ethnic armed groups said the military has suffered dozens of dead and wounded since Friday although AFP was unable to confirm any casualty figures.

Myanmar’s borderlands are home to more than a dozen ethnic armed groups, some of which have fought the military for decades over autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

Some have trained and equipped newer “People’s Defence Forces” that have sprung up since the 2021 coup and the military’s bloody crackdown on dissent.

The AA, MNDAA and TNLA — which analysts say can call on at least 15,000 fighters between them — have fought sporadically with the junta since its power grab in 2021.

The military was under “unprecedented pressure to respond to the sharpest military reverses it has suffered” since the coup, Bangkok-based security analyst Anthony Davis told AFP.

Beijing maintains ties with some ethnic armed groups along its border with Myanmar, home to ethnic Chinese communities who use Chinese SIM cards and currency.

It has previously denied reports it has supplied the armed groups with weapons.

Earlier this month nearly 30 people were killed and dozens wounded in a strike on a camp for displaced people in neighbouring Kachin state.

The KIA blamed the junta for the attack.

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit Jamaica on Monday, prompting people to flee buildings amid heavy shaking.

The earthquake was located about two miles (four kilometers) west-northwest of Hope Bay, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It occurred at a shallow depth of six miles (10 kilometers).

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The earthquake prompted panic on the island. Members attending the International Seabed Authority meeting that began Monday could be seeing fleeing on camera before the broadcast cut off.

Six teenagers were shot at a Louisiana house party, leaving one in critical condition, local authorities said.

Calcasieu Parish sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported shooting on Saturday at a home in the southeast Louisiana town of Lake Charles on Saturday shortly before midnight. When deputies arrived, they found several teenagers with gunshot wounds.

All of the victims were between 15 and 19 years old, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Sunday. Authorities said a fight broke out, which led someone to pull out a gun and start firing. The law enforcement statement did not say whether a suspect had been identified.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said the investigation was ongoing and urged parents to keep a closer eye on their children.

“We are in the process of collecting evidence and speaking to all the witnesses. This was a party full of teenagers. Once again we have to figure out how these weapons are getting in the hands of our kids,” Mancuso said. “Teen violence is a problem in our country and it is our duty as parents to know what are kids are up to.” All of the teenagers were transported to a hospital, where one remains in critical condition.

More than 1,000 people gathered Sunday evening for a vigil to remember those killed and injured in Maine’s worst mass shooting, some putting their heads in their hands as the 18 names of those who died were read. Others quietly wept.

The vigil at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston came two days after the body of suspected gunman Robert Card was found. The 40-year-old’s body was discovered in a trailer at a recycling center in Lisbon Falls. Card died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound though it was unclear when, authorities said. Card was also suspected of injuring 13 people in the shooting rampage Wednesday night in Lewiston.

The Rev Todd Little from the First United Pentecostal Church of Lewiston spoke at the vigil of a diverse community that shares something new in common after the tragedy — “shared brokenness, worry, fear and loss.”

He also vowed that the community is bigger than the tragedy and will emerge not just “Lewiston Strong” but “Lewiston Stronger.’

“We will not be defined by the tragedies that happened. Fear, anxiety and trepidation will not dictate our present or our future,” he said.

Earlier in the day, several church services were shaped by the shooting and subsequent lockdown that lasted several days. A the morning mass for Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, several women wore black veils in the cavernous sanctuary, where a church official said they are raising funds to help shooting victims and others hurt by “the horrible events in our small town.”

“We can see the rays of light in darkness,“ the Rev. Daniel Greenleaf told those present. He said that it is for times like this that they have “practiced” their faith for.

“We cannot fix this, but then again human beings are not machines to be fixed,” Greenleaf added.

At Lisbon Falls Baptist Church, arriving church members warmly greeted each other. But the atmosphere turned somber when the Rev. Brian Ganong brought up the tragedy. He prayed for those fighting for their lives, those who lost family and friends, first responders and medical workers, and others — including the Card family, who he said had ties to some members of the church.

“It did happen. We may never know the reason why,” he said, encouraging the congregation to seek solace through a higher being.

Authorities recovered a multitude of weapons during their search for Card and believe he had legally purchased his guns, including those recovered in his car and near his body, said Jim Ferguson, the special agent in charge of the Boston office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He declined to provide specific details about the guns, their make and model, nor exactly how many were found.

Investigators are still searching for a motive for the massacre, but have increasingly been focused on Card’s mental health history. State Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck said Card had been hearing voices and had paranoia.

Card believed “people were talking about him and there may even have been some voices at play,” Sauschuck said.

Family members of Card told federal investigators that he had recently discussed hearing voices and became more focused on the bowling alley and bar, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss details of the investigation.

Street life began returning to Lewiston in the city of 37,000. Police missed two clear opportunities to end the lockdown sooner, after failing to find Card’s body in searches of the recycling center Thursday night and early Friday.

For many residents, Sunday was a day to reflect, mourn and, for some, to take the first tentative steps toward normalcy. Some went hunting on the opening day of firearm season for deer, and one family handed out buckets of flowers in downtown. Others gathered at a makeshift memorial to the victims down the street from the bar targeted by Card.

But there were still reminders of the shooting.

Over at Schemengees Bar & Grille, one of the shooting sites, workers in white hazmat suits could be seen methodically cleaning up a staircase. Yellow tape surrounded the site and a small memorial had emerged near the bar, featuring colorful balloons, flowers and a poster that read: “Be Strong Lewiston.”

Parishioners from a Westbrook, Maine, church also came to the site to pay their respects to those killed or injured. With some holding signs honoring the victims, they stood and sang church hymns in front of a memorial featuring flowers, several white crosses and carved pumpkins.

“What happened three or four days ago is very, very painful. When we heard that, we decided to come up from here, sing and share this moment,” said Remy Kazengu, a deacon at the New Apostolic Church in Portland, Maine, some of whose parishioners live in Lewiston and knew some of the shooting victims.

Leroy Walker, an Auburn city councilor and father of one of the victims, was greeting people at a trick-or-treat event on Sunday hosted by an organization he leads.

He smiled broadly when the children hugged him, and accepted hugs from community members. But he became emotional when he spoke of his son, Joseph, who normally would’ve joined him at the event.

“It’s been a tough few days, trust me. The heart doesn’t stop bleeding,” he said. “I miss him every minute. I miss him more every day.”

The deadliest shootings in Maine history stunned a state of 1.3 million people that has relatively little violent crime and had only 29 killings in all of 2022.

Three of the injured remained in critical condition at Central Maine Medical Center, and a fourth was stable, hospital officials said. Another patient was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, and the rest were discharged.

A stay-at-home order in place during the massive search was lifted Friday afternoon, hours before authorities announced they had found Card’s body at the Maine Recycling Corp.

The Lewiston shootings were the 36th mass killing in the United States this year, according to a database maintained by AP and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. The database includes every mass killing since 2006 from all weapons in which four or more people, excluding the offender, were killed within a 24-hour time frame.

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announces that is withdrawing from the presidential campaign during the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence ended his cash-strapped presidential campaign on October 28, after struggling for months to convince Republican voters he was the best alternative to the man he once served with unswerving loyalty — Donald Trump.

“To the American people I say: This is not my time,” Mr. Pence told attendees at the Republican Jewish Coalition donor conference in Las Vegas.

Mr. Pence, 64, publicly broke with Mr. Trump, lambasting the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Pence gambled that Republican primary voters would reward him for following the U.S. Constitution rather than obeying Mr. Trump, who wanted him to overturn the 2020 election results.

But Mr. Trump’s base of core supporters never forgave Mr. Pence for overseeing the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election. They viewed Mr. Pence’s actions in his ceremonial role as president of the U.S. Senate as a supreme act of disloyalty to Mr. Trump, who has become the runaway frontrunner in the Republican race.

Mr. Trump has built one of the biggest primary opinion poll leads in U.S. electoral history. Polls show a majority of Republican voters have embraced, or do not care about, Mr. Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him and his subsequent efforts to overturn the result.

Mr. Pence stopped short of endorsing anyone in his speech on October 28, but in an apparent swipe at Mr. Trump, called on Americans to select someone who appeals to “the better angels of our nature” and can lead with “civility”.

Mr. Pence failed to attract enough anti-Trump Republican primary voters, and donors, to sustain a candidacy that has languished in the low single digits in opinion polls and struggled to raise money since he announced his White House bid in June.

As a result Mr. Pence, a stolid campaigner short on charisma, was low on cash by October and despite spending time and resources in the first Republican nominating state of Iowa, had failed to catch fire there.

When his campaign released Mr. Pence’s third quarter fundraising totals on October 15, his candidacy was $620,000 in debt and only had $1.2 million cash on hand, far less than several better-performing Republican rivals and insufficient to sustain the financial demands of a White House race.

In several past elections, former vice-presidents who have competed to become the White House nominee have succeeded, including Republican George H.W. Bush in 1988 and Democrat Al Gore in 2000.

This year, Mr. Pence was up against the political juggernaut that is Mr. Trump, along with other rivals who appealed more to anti-Trump primary voters and donors, including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Mr. Pence ran as a traditional social and fiscal conservative, and a foreign policy hawk, calling for increased military aid to Ukraine and cuts in welfare entitlement spending. But that brand of Republicanism has been eclipsed in the Trump-era by full-throated populism and “America First” isolationism.

Signaling more turmoil ahead, Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on a first ballot Tuesday, as a surprising 20 holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the GOP majority needed to seize the gavel.

Additional voting was postponed as the House hit a standstill, stuck while Jordan works to shore up support from Republican colleagues to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy for the job. Reluctant Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio congressman as too extreme for the powerful position of House speaker, second in line to the presidency. Next votes were expected Wednesday.

“We’re going to keep working,” Mr. Jordan said at the Capitol as evening fell.

It’s been two weeks of angry Republican infighting since McCarthy’s sudden removal by hard-liners, who are now within reach of a central seat of U.S. power. The vote for House speaker, once a formality in Congress, has devolved into another bitter showdown for the gavel.

Mr. Jordan said after the first vote that he was not surprised and expected to do better in the next round. But the afternoon dragged on with no further votes Tuesday. “We feel confident,” he said, ducking into a leadership office.

The tally, with 200 Republicans voting for Jordan and 212 for the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, left no candidate with a clear majority, as 20 Republicans voted for someone else. With Republicans in majority control, Jordan must pick up most of his GOP foes to win.

The holdouts are a mix of pragmatists, ranging from seasoned legislators and committee chairs worried about governing, to newer lawmakers from districts where voters back home prefer President Joe Biden to Trump.

But with public pressure bearing down on lawmakers from Trump’s allies, including Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, it’s unclear how long the holdouts can last. Jordan swiftly flipped dozens of detractors in a matter of days, shoring up Republicans who have few options left, but it was not enough.

“Jim Jordan will be a great speaker,” the former president said outside a courthouse in Manhattan, where he is facing business fraud charges. “I think he’s going to have the votes soon, if not today, over the next day or two.”

The political climb has been steep for Jordan, the combative Judiciary Committee chairman and a founding member of the right-flank Freedom Caucus. He is known more as a chaos agent than a skilled legislator, raising questions about how he would lead. Congress faces daunting challenges, risking a federal shutdown at home if it fails to fund the government and fielding Biden’s requests for aid to help Ukraine and Israel in the wars abroad.

With the House Republican majority narrowly held at 221-212, Jordan can afford to lose only a few votes to reach the 217 majority threshold, if there are no further absences.

Jeffries swiftly intervened, declaring was time for Republicans to partner with Democrats to reopen the House.

Bipartisan groups of lawmakers have been floating ways to operate the House by giving greater power to the interim speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., or another temporary speaker.

“The Republicans are unable to function right now,” said Jeffries. He said talks “would accelerate” between Democrats and Republicans into the evening.

As the somber roll call was underway, each lawmaker announcing their choice, the holdouts quickly surfaced.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a leader of the centrists, voted for McCarthy, the ousted former speaker. Murmurs rippled through the chamber. Others voted for Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was the party’s first nominee to replace McCarthy before he, too, was rejected by hardliners last week.

Making the official nominating speech was another top Trump ally, GOP conference chairwoman Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who declared Jordan will be “we the people’s speaker.”

On the other side of the aisle, Democratic caucus chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar of California nominated Jeffries and warned that handing the speaker’s gavel to a “vocal election denier” would send “a terrible message” at home and abroad.

Aguilar recited all the times Jordan voted against various measures — abortion access, government aid and others. Democrats chanted, “He said no!”

Upset that a small band of hard-liners have upended the House by ousting McCarthy, Republicans have watched their majority control of the chamber descend into public infighting. All House business has ground to a halt.

One holdout, Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, said Jordan’s role in the runup to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and his refusal to admit that Biden, a Democrat, won the 2020 election remained an issue.

“Jim, at some point, if he’s going to lead this conference during the presidential election cycle and particularly in a presidential election year … is going to have to be strong and say Donald Trump didn’t win the election and we need to move forward,” Buck said.

Immediately after the vote, Jordan conferred with McCarthy, who fared nearly as badly in January, having lost almost as many votes on the first of what would become a historic 15 ballots for the gavel.

Jordan can rely on Trump’s support as well as pressure on colleagues from an army of grassroots activists who recognize him from cable news and fiery performances at committee hearings. Some Republicans said their first vote was merely a protest, and they would be with Jordan on future ballots.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who engineered McCarthy’s ouster by a handful of hard-liners, which did not include Jordan, publicly praised each lawmaker who has flipped to Jordan’s column — and berated those who have not.

Democrats have decried the far-right shift, calling Jordan the leader of the chaos wing of the GOP.

Mr. Jordan has been a top Trump ally, particularly during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack by the former president’s backers who were trying to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Biden. Days later, Trump awarded Jordan a Medal of Freedom.

Now the Republican Party’s front-runner to challenge Biden in the 2024 election, Trump backed Jordan to replace McCarthy early on and worked against the nomination of Scalise, who withdrew after colleagues rejected their own rules and failed to coalesce around him.

Tensions remained high among Republicans exhausted by the internal party infighting.

Some Republicans resent being pressured by Jordan’s allies and say they are being threatened with primary opponents if they don’t support him as speaker. Others are simply upset at the way the whole process has dragged out.

First elected in 2006, Jordan has few bills to his name from his time in office. He also faces questions about his past. Some years ago, Jordan denied allegations from former wrestlers during his time as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University who accused him of knowing about claims they were inappropriately groped by an Ohio doctor. Jordan has said he was never aware of any abuse.

A file photo of a participant holding rainbow umbrella as he attends a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride Parade in Hong Kong.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A Hong Kong court on Tuesday dismissed a government bid to deny same-sex married couples the right to rent and own public housing saying that it was “discriminatory in nature” and a complete denial of such couples’ rights.

The ruling by Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal is the latest in a series of legal breakthroughs for gay rights advocates in the global financial hub this year.

The government had challenged two High Court rulings that it was “unconstitutional and unlawful” for the city’s housing authority to exclude same-sex couples who married abroad from public housing.

The appeal involved two cases, one in which the authority had declined to consider a permanent resident’s application to rent a public flat with his husband, because their marriage in Canada was not recognised in Hong Kong.

The other involved a same-sex couple who were denied joint-ownership of a government-subsidised flat by the authority because their marriage in Britain was not recognised in Hong Kong.

Court of Appeal justices Jeremy Poon, Aarif Barma and Thomas Au said in a written judgment that the authority’s treatment of gay married couples was “discriminatory in nature” and they should be afforded equal treatment.

“The differential treatment in the present cases is a more severe form of indirect discrimination than most cases because the criterion is one which same-sex couples can never meet,” the judges said in their ruling.

One of the men involved in the second case, Henry Li, welcomed the ruling in a post on Facebook.

Rights group Hong Kong Marriage Equality also welcomed the decision saying it had made clear “that discrimination and unequal treatment on the ground of sexual orientation has no place in public policy decisions”.

Hong Kong’s top court in September ruled against same-sex marriage but acknowledged the need for same-sex couples “for access to an alternative legal framework in order to meet basic social requirements”.

The government was given two years to come up with the framework.

A Hong Kong court in September sided with a married lesbian couple who argued that both women should have parental status over their child born via reciprocal IVF.

Activists in other parts of Asia are watching Hong Kong’s courts in the hope that their rulings could influence campaigns for reform elsewhere.

(Reporting by Jessie Pang; Editing by James Pomfret, Robert Birsel)

Mr. Putin and his entourage flew into the Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday morning, according to Reuters video footage, in the Kremlin chief’s first official trip outside of the former Soviet Union this year. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on a widely watched trip aimed at showcasing the deep mutual trust and “no-limits” partnership between China and its giant neighbour.

Mr. Putin and his entourage flew into the Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday morning, according to Reuters video footage, in the Kremlin chief’s first official trip outside of the former Soviet Union this year.

Mr. Putin has travelled little abroad since the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him in March, accusing him of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. Mr. Putin visited Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, earlier this month.

The ICC’s move obliges the court’s 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. Neither Kyrgyzstan nor China are members of the ICC, established to prosecute war crimes.

Mr. Xi last saw his “dear friend” in Moscow just days after the warrant was issued. At the time, Xi invited Putin to attend the third Belt and Road forum in Beijing, an international cooperation forum championed by the Chinese leader. Putin will meet with Xi on Wednesday.

Beijing has rejected Western criticism of its partnership with Moscow even as the war in Ukraine showed no sign of ceasing, insisting that their ties do not violate international norms, and China has the right to collaborate with whichever country it chooses.

Mr. Putin last visited China for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022 when Russia and China declared a “no-limits” partnership days before the Russian president sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

It would be Mr. Putin’s third attendance of the Belt and Road Forum, which runs through Wednesday. He attended the two previous forums in 2017 and 2019.

Ethnic Shan artists perform during a ceremony to mark the 8th anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on October 15, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Myanmar’s military government hosted representatives from ethnic rebel groups Sunday to mark the eighth anniversary of the signing of a multilateral cease-fire agreement. But the event was boycotted by three of the signatories that oppose the current army-installed regime.

The event in the capital Naypyitaw was the first such formal gathering of the military government and ethnic minority leaders since the army seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government on February 1, 2021.

Maintaining a cease-fire with as many groups as possible is crucial for the military government, which for more than two years has been faced with nationwide armed resistance from opponents of its 2021 takeover. Those pro-democracy forces have crucial alliances with, or support from, several ethnic rebel groups. The military has launched offensives in the territory long under the control of the ethnic minority groups.

In order to shake and divide the anti-military rule alliances, the military government has also conducted a series of in-person peace talks with the leaders of ethnic minorities since May last year, with little to show for its effort.

Myanmar has 21 established ethnic armed organizations and some of the largest and most powerful groups, including the Kachin Independence Army and United Wa State Army, did not endorse the cease-fire pact, which they viewed as lacking inclusiveness.

The agreement had been seen as a step toward ending the longstanding rebellions against the government but the government has always been reluctant to reach the comprehensive political settlement most of the groups have sought.

The army’s seizure of power undermined chances for the peace process.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council who spearheaded the 2021 takeover, said in his opening speech on Sunday that the cease-fire pact — officially called the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, or NCA, — would “remain in force eternally and (is) not … subject to nullification” as it was ratified by Parliament.

He said the military “attaches great importance to the implementation of the NCA agreement,” according to an official translation of his speech. He also urged groups that had not been signatories to sign the agreement.

Many ethnic armies have been fighting the ethnic Burman majority government for greater autonomy for their regions since the country, then named Burma, gained independence from the British in 1948.

In October 2015, eight ethnic armed groups signed the NCA. In February 2018, two more ethnic rebel groups joined the cease-fire under Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government, bringing the total number of signatories to 10.

The Karen National Union, Chin National Front and All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, three NCA signatories, declared they were not attending Sunday’s event. The three groups have allied with the pro-democracy People’s Defense Force established in 2021 to oppose army rule.

The three groups announced on Thursday in a joint statement that the agreement is no longer valid as the military has destroyed the basic principles of the agreement and repeated vicious attacks that target civilians since its takeover.

The statement said dialogue would not be held unless their demands were met. The demands include the military’s withdrawal from politics, implementation of federal democracy and acceptance of international involvement in solving the country’s crisis.

Padoh Saw Taw Nee, a spokesperson for Karen National Union — one of the most established and influential of the ethnic minority organizations — said in a video message posted on the organization’s Facebook page on Sunday that the ruling military council is trying to hold peace talks and anniversary events to ease the financial and diplomatic stress they are under and to find a way out from losing a lot of territory. Many Western nations maintain tough economic and political sanctions against the ruling military.

“Under current conditions, no meaningful peace talks can take place. With the coup, there is no legitimate government, no constitution and no parliament,” Padoh Saw Taw Nee said. “We don’t see any potential positive outcomes from the eighth year anniversary of the NCA that they are organizing now.” Three members of All Burma Students’ Democratic Front were listed by the military as being in attendance at Sunday’s event but a spokesperson for the group, Ye Baw Sonny, told The Associated Press said they did not represent it and would face disciplinary measures.

The groups that were listed as having sent representatives were the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, the Pa-O National Liberation Army, the Arakan Liberation Party, the Restoration Council of Shan State, the New Mon State Party, the Lahu Democratic Union, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front and some other ethnic groups that were not NCA signatories.

The military said attendees also included 35 members of political parties, 11 officials from non-governmental organizations and 32 diplomats, including Chinese Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun and, Indian Deputy National Security Adviser Vikram Misri.