Peng Daxun

Peng Daxun^{[n 1]} (Chinese: 彭大顺; pinyin: Péng Dàshùn, Burmese: ဖုန်တာရွှင်), also known as Peng Deren (Chinese: 彭德仁; pinyin: Péng Dérén, born 1965), is a Burmese Kokang military leader serving as commander of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) since 2009. He is the son of Pheung Kya-shin, his immediate predecessor as commander of the MNDAA, and has waged a war against the Tatmadaw and government of Myanmar to reclaim control over Kokang.

Peng Daxun was born in 1965 as the son of Peng Jiasheng (Pheung Kya-shin), the first leader of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army. In his early career, he served within the local police force of Kokang.^[2] In 2009, he became leader of the MNDAA, succeeding his father after the loss of Kokang Self-Administered Zone to the Tatmadaw.^[3] It was speculated that the elder Peng had been grooming his son to be his successor; however, in a telephone interview with Voice of America, he stated: "I am in this position now, to this extent, because of current events. Frankly speaking, it was forced by the Burmese government and the Burmese army. In fact, I didn’t want to engage in these things, armed revolution and martial arts. I didn't like engaging in these political activities." He also usually prefers to read historical books.^[4] Following the Tatmadaw takeover of Kokang SAZ, the four major groups within the MNDAA all defected to the Tatmadaw, leaving Peng to fight a guerrilla war.^[2]

In his efforts to retake Kokang, Peng has received support from other members of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, and the MNDAA has grown into one of Myanmar's most powerful Ethnic Armed Organisations.^[5] Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Peng intensified his efforts to recapture Kokang, including staging an assassination attempt against the son of Bai Xuoqian on 6 February 2021. As of 2023, the MNDAA is believed to have around 5,000 well-equipped soldiers.^[6]

As of 2012, an arrest warrant for Peng remains outstanding in Myanmar, alleging that he, along with his father and two other leaders of the MNDAA, were illegally producing and selling weapons and ammunition.^[7] Peng's brother-in-law, Chinese-Burmese businessman Li Guoquan, died in Tatmadaw custody in 2015.^[8]

Reportedly, Peng has been detained in Kunming, China in a family-owned hotel since late October 2024. Allegedly, he is being held to exert pressure on the MNDAA until they give up control of Lashio. However, the Chinese government denied this; they claim that he was seeking medical treatment.^{[9] [10]}