Through reclusive Wa, China's reach extends into Suu Kyi's Myanmar

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi (L) delivers a speech during a luncheon organised by Japanese business and economic associations in Tokyo, Japan November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Issei Kato

PANGSAN, Myanmar (Reuters) - China is extending its sway over an autonomous enclave run by Myanmar's most powerful ethnic armed group, sources in the region told Reuters, bolstering Beijing's role in the peace process that is the signature policy of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The "foreign policy" of the self-proclaimed Wa State is closely monitored by Beijing, senior officials in the administration run by the 30,000-strong United Wa State Army (UWSA) and its political wing said, with contact with Western governments, businesses or aid groups deemed particularly sensitive.