Myanmar on Sunday openly expresses regret for the first time to Friday's bombing incident across the Myanmar-China border, which left five Chinese citizens dead and eight others injured in China's southwestern Yunnan province.

The conflict between government forces and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in Myanmar’s northern Kokang region has resulted in increasing local displacements and financial losses, and even civilian casualties in its neighbors such as China.

Yet, given the highly sensitive nature of the clashes, none of the involved international or regional organizations, including the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has been able to make effective diplomatic interventions to end the conflict.

What is happening in northern Myanmar, as China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated last week, is the country’s internal affair triggered by the interest disparities between Myanmar’s central government and northern ethnic minorities. However, given the country’s geopolitical significance and abundant natural resources, strategic competition between major powers within Myanmar’s borders may also be playing a role.

Hence, it is foreseeable that more humanitarian crises may emerge in Myanmar, should the tensions in the north keep escalating. Worse still, the country is also likely to be added to the list of “failed states” due to its tarnished national image, despite all the efforts it has made to engage with the international community.

Myanmar’s future needs to be in the hands of its people, otherwise it will only be a bargaining chip for outside forces in their selfish haggles. Negotiation is the best way to end the clashes, and the international community should provide constructive assistance to make talks happen.