Thanks to Eleven Media Group, we now know what went on inside the closed doors of the latest round of peace talks in China’s Ruili, which was hosted by Ambassador Wang Zongying on 11 March.

Hkun Okker, leader of the PaO National Liberation Organization (PNLO) and Joint Secretary # 2 of the 11 member organizations’ alliance, United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), in response to EMG’s query, had commented that:

• Representatives from both the government and the Kachin Independence Organization / Kachin Independence Army (KIO/KIA) had reached agreement on several fundamental points
• However when the host stepped in and said they agreed with some points, but disagreed with others, and “advised” the two sides to change the wordings here and there, both were obliged to remove some of the points from the draft Joint statement

Interestingly, this was not the first time Chinese authorities had done it. The Euro Burma Office (EBO) briefing paper on the prior meeting on 4 February which came out early this month also lamented that:

• “China, then, wanted to mediate the meeting. This was resisted by all participants and it was finally agreed that China would only observe”
• “China also objected to the KIO and the (Government of Myanmar) agreeing to the need for ceasefire monitors and the need to provide humanitarian assistance to internal displaced populations. Both this points were dropped from the official record of the meeting. No reason was given for the objections, but it is possible that China does not want an international presence on its border”

One might think that, with their bitter experience in February, both participants would have said “No” to the second meeting hosted by China. However, following the appointment of non-governmental Nippon Foundation’s boss Yohei Sasakawa as Special envoy for the national reconciliation in Burma and his successful co-hosting with Thailand of the 20 February meeting between the UNFC and Naypyitaw, to say No to Beijing must have become rather too tricky. China, on the other hand, again refused to change its assertive stance, one that rides roughshod over others, much to the disappointment of both Naypyitaw and particularly the non-Burma armed opposition. (Was Cambodia that was hosting the Asean meet last year to discuss the South China Sea dispute also browbeaten in the same way?)

So, where is the next round of peace talks going to take place? More than that, who’s going to host it? Enter the dragon and the sun, that are scrambling over one another to outdo each other, may be too hot. Leaving the peace process to just the two of them obviously won’t get it nowhere.

It would need at least two others: the United States and Asean not only to see that the boat is not rocked or overturned but reach the destination agreed up by the country’s stakeholders.

What appears evident is that, without involvement by other powers, Burma’s peace process is going to be adrift. Likely it’s in the interests of some powers that be but certainly not those of the country.