Since January, fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar’s military has intensified dramatically, killing hundreds as Myanmar focuses attention on the threat of COVID-19.

The government has been slow to act on coronavirus, on both the health and economic fronts; so far only luck has spared it a real test of its crisis-management skills.

The reclusive drug lord Wei Hsueh-kang still wields significant influence in the Wa army, as surprised Myanmar peace negotiators learned at a recent meeting in China.