Could Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups turn the tide against the junta, with a little help from Beijing?

Groups such as the Arakan Army are putting aside their differences to condemn the coup, pressuring the army – though others have thrown in their lot with the military

Some of them receive arms from China, including the United Wa State Army, which could shake things up if it joined the side of democratic resistance

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United Wa State Army (UWSA) soldiers participate in a 2019 military parade to commemorate 30 years of a ceasefire signed with the Myanmar military. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:00pm, 27 Mar 2021Updated: 3:24pm, 27 Mar 2021

After weeks of silence as Myanmar’s military cracked down on civilians protesting against the February 1 coup, the Arakan Army (AA), a major player among the country’s more than two dozen ethnic armed groups, this week announced it was on the side of the people.

“The current actions by the Burmese army and police are very cruel and unacceptable,” AA spokesman Khine Thu Khahe said on Tuesday, adding that “the oppressed ethnic people as a whole will continue to fight for their freedom from oppression”.

The AA’s statement was significant, as it comes just weeks after Myanmar’s junta removed the militia from its list of terrorist groups as a means of establishing peace across the nation of 55 million. The AA, in seeking greater autonomy for the western Rakhine State – which is home to the Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority group – has battled against army troops since 2018.

Myanmar’s ethnic minority groups – which make up about one-third of the population – have increasingly put aside their differences to condemn the coup, putting further pressure on military resources that are already stretched thin as they take on protesters.

The Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army - South (RCSS) on Saturday became the latest such group to denounce the coup, with its chair General Yawd Serk saying Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups will not stand by and do nothing if the military junta’s forces continue to kill protesters.