With his army severely depleted by casualties from over three years of fighting, defections and a recruitment crisis, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing finally played his trump card in February – mandatory military service.
The idea of conscripting young adults originated just after independence amid concern over a possible foreign invasion.
The first conscription law was enacted in 1959 under the interim government of General Ne Win, who would later stage Myanmar’s first coup, in 1962.
Vice adjutant-general Colonel Thein Maung was assigned to draft the law by Brigadier-Generals Aung Gyi and Maung Maung, according to Maung Maung’s historical account, “Caretaker Government.”
Maung Maung and Aung Gyi were studying Israel’s national defense plan at the time, seeking ways to combat Myanmar insurgencies and the Kuomintang invasion. The two were drawn to Israel’s law requiring mandatory military service for all citizens over 20, and reservist conscription for those under 60.
Inspired by Israel’s strategic defense against encirclement by hostile Arab countries, the two brigadier-generals promoted a similar approach for a Myanmar sandwiched between the two most populous countries in the world – China and India.
Maung Maung, who would later serve as Myanmar’s ambassador to Israel, and Aung Gyi, who would become Ne Win’s deputy after the 1962 coup, pushed to introduce compulsory military service.
Myanmar had been subject to invasions from China for centuries, but never from India. So the conscription advocated by Maung Maung was understood to be directed primarily against threats from China.
Maung Maung wanted a regular, well-trained army capable of repulsing a Chinese invasion should disputes arise over border demarcation.
The generals began drafting the law in 1955 under the elected Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League government. But it took another four years before it was enacted under Gen Ne Win’s interim government.
However, Ne Win declined to enforce the law during his short-lived civilian administration and his subsequent dictatorship from 1962-88.
His successor, Than Shwe, also left the law inactive despite amending it to become the “People’s Military Service Law” in 2010. Neither was conscription enforced by Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian administration or under the National League for Democracy government that was ousted by the 2021 coup.
Min Aung Hlaing finally broke the conscription moratorium after 65 years in February 2024, exactly three years after his putsch. Suddenly, all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 were required to serve in the military for at least two years.
The law was activated after junta forces suffered humiliating defeats to ethnic armies in northern Shan State, prompting military supporters to call on Min Aung Hlaing to step down.
The regime is thought to have forced 25,000 conscripts into military training camps within six months since April.
Addressing a military parade to mark Armed Forces Day on March 27, Min Aung Hlaing said conscription would boost the country’s defense forces. The military service law was originally intended to counter threats from neighboring powers, but the junta boss has exploited it to maintain his grip on power and safeguard his interests.
Enaction of the law, which carries up to five years in prison for draft dodgers, triggered an exodus as young people fled abroad or to resistance-controlled areas. The regime quickly began snatching conscription-aged individuals off the streets and from their homes.
Arakan Army chief Major-General Tun Myat Naing told The Irrawaddy last month that the regime was flooding Rakhine with conscripts after losing control of over half of the state. However, reinforcement by inexperienced young conscripts had done nothing to stem heavy casualties being suffered by the junta across the western state, he added.
Meanwhile, a junta counteroffensive to reclaim northern Shan State from the AA’s allied ethnic armies has made minimal progress, according to reports on the ground.
