Bertil Lintner looks at the often devious ways in which China cemented the pauk-phaw or kinship relationship to become the dominant foreign power in Myanmar, sidelining all others.

Regional bloc’s latest peace mission bypassed the junta chief in bid to get the Five-Point Consensus back on track but blamed revolutionary groups for breaking trust.

A senior Thai military officer and the junta’s defense minister also met to discuss border security, junta media reported.

The ministerial-level team held wide-ranging talks with senior junta officials and signed an agreement to invest in the Dawei Special Economic Zone, among others.