Chin armed group touts training ties to Arakan Army

By DMG 28 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 April 2022, Sittwe 

Long connected by commerce and cultures, Arakan and Chin states are also deepening military ties between neighbouring non-state armed groups, according to recent reports. 

The Chinland Defence Force-Mindat, an anti-regime group based in Chin State’s Mindat Township, released a video on April 26 purporting to show its members returning to Chin State after receiving military training with the Arakan Army (AA) last year. 

Thirty soldiers from the CDF-Mindat received military training from the Arakan Army, with the last batch of 15 recently returning home, according to a statement issued by the Chin anti-regime group. 

Salai Naw Saw, a Chin historian, said he viewed the apparent collaboration favourably. 

“Chin and Arakan have a long history of working together in the political arena. The Arakan Army was active militarily in Paletwa Township in the past. At the moment, I heard that the Arakan Army is providing military training to the CDF-Mindat, and it is a good sign,” he said. 

Salai Naw Saw said strong Arakanese-Chin relations are important given their longstanding ethnic and territorial ties. 

Salai Paing Sun, a Chin youth from Arakan State, said it was not unusual for ethnic armed groups to provide military assistance to each other. 

“When the Arakan Army was first formed, there was strong support from powerful ethnic armed groups. Helping people with a common goal puts the enemy at a disadvantage,” he added. 

The Arakan Army was active in Paletwa, Chin State, during its conflict with the Myanmar military from 2018-2020. During the fighting, more than 10,000 people in Chin State were displaced, and many are still living as internally displaced people (IDPs). 

The conflict and its consequences at times strained relations between the Arakanese and Chin communities. 

“This issue [civilian displacement] cannot be forgotten,” Salai Naw Saw said. “We need to build trust between the two sides and find a solution through political dialogue, with a people-centred mindset among political leaders. Chin and Arakan states are geographically important because they are neighbours. I want to build a good relationship between these two communities.” 

U Aung Thaung Shwe, a former Arakan State lawmaker for Buthidaung Township, said the Arakan Army’s military assistance to members of the CDF-Mindat was intended to defeat a common enemy. 

“If we fight the common enemy, I think there will be an all-inclusive principle so that we can cooperate as needed. Therefore, it can be said that they have formed a force to attack the enemy and are working together to fight,” the ex-legislator told DMG. 

Although the Arakan Army has not been involved in overtly anti-military activities since the coup, its assistance to the CDF-Mindat and tensions between the junta and Arakan Army over the latter’s administrative initiatives are among the reasons for growing unease about the possibility of renewed conflict in Arakan State.