Rakhine: Arakan Army opens talks with junta to extract concessions from China
The ethnic militia is expanding its gains in the western state where it now controls 10 key Chinese projects which experts say could be used as leverage to obtain benefits. The Arakan Army says the continuation of its offensive will depend on the actions of the military junta.
Yangon (AsiaNews) – The level of devastation of the offensive launched by the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine will depend on the military junta, said AA spokesman Khaing Thukha speaking to The Irrawaddy.
After seizing one city after another, the region's most important ethnic militia announced on 29 December that it was willing to settle the conflict by political means rather than military action.
“To seek political solutions to political problems has been our policy from the beginning,” said Khaing Thukha today, referring to a Chinese-brokered ceasefire attempt in January 2024. “We continue to adhere to this policy and keep the door open [for talks]. Whether our offensives will cease depends mainly on how the regime responds.”
By taking Gwa, southern Rakhine, the AA now controls 14 of the 17 townships in the western state; as a result, 10 Chinese projects are under its control, which it has sworn to protect.
“Regarding foreign investments in our controlled areas, we have already stated that we will provide the best protection for any investments beneficial to our people, and we will cooperate as necessary. There is no change in this policy,” said the AA spokesperson.
Gwa is located about 400 kilometres from the state capital, which in turn is 250 kilometres from Yangon, the largest city in the country, where the military’s hold remains firm (for now). Rakhine State capital, Sittwe, also remains in military hands, along with Kyaukphyu (an important commercial hub) and Munaung.
The AA, which is fighting for an independent country, is part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which launched a vast offensive against Myanmar’s armed forces in late October 2023. Since then, several areas along the country’s borders have been seized by ethnic militias fighting for greater autonomy from the central government since independence from British rule in 1948.
China has tried to mediate between the ruling junta and resistance forces to protect its investments and infrastructure projects in Myanmar and the security of its citizens, so far unsuccessfully.
Projects under the control of the Arakan Army in Rakhine include the Kyaukphyu deep-water port and special economic zone, the Mandalay-Kyaukphyu railway project, the Kyaukphyu-Naypyitaw road project, a series of oil and gas pipelines running from the Andaman Sea to China's Yunnan province, and wind power projects in the cities of Thandwe and Ann.
For Beijing, Myanmar is a key piece of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a network of economic corridors to connect China to the rest of the world.
For months, Chinese officials have been pressuring the other ethnic militias that make up the Alliance (the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army) to reopen diplomatic channels with the military junta, with little results so far.
Despite a certain reluctance to intervene directly in the internal affairs of other countries, Beijing has signed an agreement with Myanmar’s junta to deploy private security companies to protect its investments, while it continues to target members of cross-border criminal organisations accused of human trafficking whose main victims are Chinese nationals.
According to experts, ethnic militias are now trying to leverage the presence of Chinese projects in the territories under their control to obtain concessions from Beijing (on which the survival of the military junta also depends).
This could lead to the creation of a series of semi-independent regions, which could clash with the creation of a federal state, the post-conflict project proposed by the exiled National Unity Government (NUG), composed of exiled lawmakers and ministers from the previous government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy.
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22/10/2020 17:06
07/09/2021 12:36
