YANGON
\nMyanmar\u2019s military on Wednesday said rumors top generals had detained the embattled junta chief in a new coup were \u201cpropaganda\u201d spread by \u201ctraitors\u201d ahead of a visit by China\u2019s foreign minister.
\nJunta chief Min Aung Hlaing has faced public criticism from military supporters in recent weeks as government troops lose territory to ethnic minority armed groups and other opponents battling to overturn its 2021 coup.
\nOn Tuesday several social media posts claimed that top generals had detained Min Aung Hlaing in the capital Naypyidaw in a bid to change the junta\u2019s top leadership.
\nThe claims were \u201cpropaganda… with the aim of disrupting the country\u2019s peace and stability,\u201d the junta said in a statement, accusing those sharing the news of being \u201ctraitors.\u201d
\n\u201cThe head of state and authorities are fulfilling their national responsibility together,\u201d it said.
\nChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is due to arrive in Myanmar on Wednesday for talks with Min Aung Hlaing.
\nThe visit is \u201caimed at deepening bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields,\u201d an unnamed Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
\nChina is a major ally and arms supplier to the junta but analysts say it also maintains ties with ethnic armed groups that hold territory near its border.
\nIn recent weeks an alliance of ethnic armed groups has seized territory from the junta in northern Shan state, which borders China\u2019s Yunnan province.
\nTerritory captured includes the military\u2019s northeastern command in the Shan state town of Lashio, home to about 150,000 people.
\nThe capture of the regional command \u2014 the first by opponents of the junta since the military\u2019s 2021 coup \u2014 sparked rare public criticism of the top generals by its supporters.
\nMin Aung Hlaing later said the alliance was receiving weapons, including drones and short-range missiles, from \u201cforeign\u201d sources that he did not identify.
\nThe last top Chinese official to visit the isolated junta was former foreign minister Qin Gang, who held talks with Min Aung Hlaing in May last year.
\nAccording to a senior Myanmar military official Wang Yi will not meet Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained by the military since it seized power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
YANGON Myanmar\u2019s military on Wednesday said rumors top generals had detained the embattled junta chief in a new coup were \u201cpropaganda\u201d spread by \u201ctraitors\u201d ahead of a visit by China\u2019s foreign minister. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has faced public criticism from military supporters in recent weeks as government troops lose territory to ethnic minority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-424959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n