Representatives from the government’s Union Peace Commission have met with leaders from the coalition known as the Northern Alliance, according to a report in the Myanmar Times. The meeting took place in China’s Kunming Province, and included representatives from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), who remain in conflict with the Myanmar Army, known as the Tatmadaw. “We talked with them to stop the fighting and to find a way to prevent more conflict with the government,” said the coalition’s spokesperson Ta Phone Kyaw, adding that a second meeting is due to take place next month. Representatives from the United Wa State Party (UWSP) and Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) attended as observers, the article said. Ta Phone Kyaw called the meeting “a good step for the peace process”. The Northern Alliance members are also part of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), which is headed by the UWSP and rejects the government’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.