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Teddy Ng

Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday that China would resolutely protect its borders after its military alleged that a stray bomb from a Myanmese aircraft killed five of its citizens.
Li told a press conference at the end of the National People's Congress in Beijing that he was saddened by the deaths on Friday.
"We have the responsibility and the capacity to firmly safeguard stability in the border area between the two nations and protect the life and property of our people," he said.
In a statement released on its official microblog late on Saturday, the Yunnan provincial government said a Myanmese warplane dropped a bomb in a sugarcane field near Lincang on Friday, killing five people and injuring eight.
Watch: Myanmar warplane kills five in southwest China

Government forces in Myanmar are fighting ethnic rebels in the country's northern Kokang region. Mainland media reported that more than 60,000 refugees from Myanmar had fled to Yunnan during the conflict.
A senior official in Myanmar's presidential office denied that one of its warplanes crossed China's border. The Associated Press reported the official as saying the deaths could have been the work of a group seeking to create confusion, and that radar data showed its aircraft did not stray into Chinese territory.
Defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said warplanes from Myanmar had intruded "multiple times" and that the People's Liberation Army would take "decisive measures" should it happen again.
Central Military Commission vice-chairman Fan Changlong told Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of Myanmar's armed forces, on Saturday that the Myanmese military should "seriously control" its troops.
"Otherwise, the Chinese military will take resolute measures to protect the safety of the Chinese people and their assets," Xinhua quoted Fan as saying.
For all the latest news from China’s parliamentary sessions click here
Beijing has scrambled Chinese fighter jets to track, monitor, warn and chase away Myanmese military planes that have flown close to the Chinese border.
Zhou Xiaozhou, a National People's Congress deputy and an officer in the Chengdu regional military command, said the army along the border was on a state of higher alert.
"Air and land forces have made preparations," he said.
Li Guangcheng, a Yunnan deputy to the NPC, said the Chinese military should step up border protection.
"More soldiers should be deployed to prevent our citizens from further dangers," he said.
"Proper management should be put in place along the border to enable stability on our side no matter how chaotic the situation in Myanmar becomes."


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China will protect borders says premier, after bomb from Myanmar warplane killed Chinese civilians

Rebel soldiers of Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) gather at a military base in Kokang. Photo: Reuters

People walk past as armed soldier takes guards at the entrance of Chin Shwe Haw town of Kokang, neighbouring China. Photo: EPA

The Shweli River that separates Myanmar and China. Photo: Richard Jones/ Sinopix

Premier Li Keqiang arrives for a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Rebel forces in the Kokang region of Myanmar, neighbouring China. Myanmar's government has denied one of its warplanes crossed into Chinese territory. Photo: Reuters

Premier Li Keqiang arrives for a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday. Photo: EPA

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China

Premier says nation has the responsibility and capacity to safeguard stability after military alleges Myanmese bomb killed five in Yunnan


Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday that China would resolutely protect its borders after its military alleged that a stray bomb from a Myanmese aircraft killed five of its citizens.


Li Keqiang

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