Myanmar regime conducts five-day naval drill in Andaman Sea

By Admin 20 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
20 October 2024, Sittwe

Myanmar's military regime has announced that its Navy is conducting a five-day maritime security exercise in the waters of the northern Andaman Sea, off the coast of southeastern Myanmar, from October 20 to October 24.

The junta said the exercise will include water, air and underwater exercises, and practice firing.

The five days of drills are being conducted 10 nautical miles north of the Yetagun gas field, and 10 nautical miles west of Kabosa Island in Tanintharyi Region's Myeik Township, according to the announcement.

Military and political analysts have posited that the regime is no longer able to replenish its ground forces amid the ongoing fighting with resistance groups across much of the country, and is therefore focusing on training Air Force and Navy elements to defending against anti-junta advances in multiple theatres of war, including Arakan State.

"Naval operations are used in urban operations near the sea coast. In Arakan State, it can be used in operations against the likes of Kyaukphyu and Sittwe. It is possible that the regime is also preparing the Navy to fight ethnic armed groups in [southeast Myanmar's] Tanintharyi Region," said U Pe Than, a political analyst and former lawmaker for Arakan State.

According to the junta announcement, large ships, cargo boats, fishing boats, and motor vehicles are not allowed to pass through, anchor, fish, or place fishing equipment within a 5-mile radius of the area where the naval drill is being conducted, and aeroplanes and helicopters are not allowed to fly over at an altitude of less than 15,000 feet.

The regime has five main naval bases, namely the Ayeyarwady Regional Command in Yangon; Danyawaddy Regional Command in Sittwe; Panmawaddy Regional Command on Haigyi Island; Mawyawaddy Regional Command in Mawlamyine; and Tanintharyi Regional Command in Myeik.

In Arakan State, the Arakkha Army (AA) seized the Maung Shwe Lay naval base and Central Naval Diving and Salvage Depot in Thandwe last month.

"In the current battles, the regime mainly uses sea and air power to attack, and in cities near the sea coast, it uses sea [forces]. That is why the regime is conducting military exercises to replenish its naval forces," said a youth in Kyaukphyu.

In previous years, the regime held naval exercises around Manaung Island in Arakan State, but observers have noted that with the military facing a string of military defeats over recent months in Myanmar's westernmost state, naval exercises have shifted to the country's southeastern tip. 

The Myanmar military has relied heavily on its Navy on the Arakan State warfront, with naval forces assisting in battles for control of Gwa and Maungdaw townships.