This is an extremely interesting development. The military had moved much of its arms factories to the west of Irrawady river to keep them safe as western Burma had been mostly quiet and armed militias there had been relatively weak compared to those in the eastern borders which Burma share with China and Thailand a key US ally.
Arakan Army arose from the increased rohingya rebel activity in the state of Arakan and the military’s response to the rohingya rebels in 2017 and subsequent years. Led by a young charismatic leader AA’s rapid success has far exceeded that of any ethnic rebel group in recent years and even recent decades. Their success is all the more surprising as they lack the two traditional keys that’s been the backbone of success for other ethnic rebel armies: funding from illicit drug trade and active support and backing of China.
This is an extremely interesting development. The military had moved much of its arms factories to the west of Irrawady river to keep them safe as western Burma had been mostly quiet and armed militias there had been relatively weak compared to those in the eastern borders which Burma share with China and Thailand a key US ally.
Arakan Army arose from the increased rohingya rebel activity in the state of Arakan and the military’s response to the rohingya rebels in 2017 and subsequent years. Led by a young charismatic leader AA’s rapid success has far exceeded that of any ethnic rebel group in recent years and even recent decades. Their success is all the more surprising as they lack the two traditional keys that’s been the backbone of success for other ethnic rebel armies: funding from illicit drug trade and active support and backing of China.