Joint probe begins into border bombing

'Restrained' military action expected

China and Myanmar have started a joint investigation into the bombing incident in a border city of Southwest China's Yunnan province that killed five Chinese citizens, China's foreign ministry announced on Monday.

"China has lodged serious complaints to Myanmar through different channels and Myanmar has expressed sorrow for the Chinese casualties, saying it will investigate the bombing and properly handle the aftermath," foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a Monday briefing.

A Myanmar working group arrived at the China-Myanmar border on Sunday, he said.

A bomb dropped by a warplane from conflict-stricken Myanmar killed five Chinese people working in a sugar cane field in Lincang, Yunnan Province on Friday. The bombing also injured another eight.

"The conflict in north Myanmar's Kokang region has lasted for over a month, severely affecting the border region's peace and stability," Hong said, urging the conflicting parties to "take China's concerns seriously" and show restraint so as to restore order in frontier areas.

Myanmar openly responded to the bombing late Sunday, saying that its authorities are cooperating with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels to uncover the truth.

In a statement published on Monday in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the Myanmar government expressed "deep sorrow" for the deaths and injuries to Chinese people in the border areas and added that a joint investigation with Beijing will be conducted.

It added that the two countries' foreign and defense ministries were in direct contact over the investigation.

The probe will also look into whether Kokang rebels were involved to "create instability along the border," the report said, adding that the military had been instructed to maintain its operations within the territory of Myanmar.

An official with the Myanmar presidential office on Saturday denied that any bomb from its forces had fallen in China and said the rebels might have fired into China to create "misunderstanding."

Analysts have noted Myanmar government's improving attitude and predicted a more restrained Myanmar military operation in the future in light of the resolute and clear Chinese government position.

Ji Qiufeng, a professor at the School of International Relations at Nanjing University, told the Global Times that the "unprecedented" tough stance presented by the Chinese government may send a signal to Myanmar that "unbridled violence" cannot solve the historical problem of ethnic rebels in the border areas.

While no further information regarding the investigation is available, a senior Kokang rebel leader said the group is waiting for the investigation results and is willing to work with the two governments on the investigation.

"We would like to hold peace talks with the Myanmar government as political means are the only ways to solve the situation in Kokang," a spokesperson for the Kokang rebels, who asked to be identified as Lin, told the Global Times.

Meanwhile, the bomb-hit city in Yunnan has strengthened border patrols and increased defense forces over the weekend.

A Global Times reporter saw several jet fighters from the People's Liberation Army air force at Lincang airport. There were also armed guards near the fighters. However, no civilian flights have been affected, according to an employee at the airport.

The five deceased were cremated on Saturday. All were male and the youngest was 22 years old. Each victim's family has allegedly received 20,000 yuan ($3,193.6) from the local government as compensation. Of the eight people injured, three have been hospitalized and one is still in intensive care, China Central Television reported.