Preaching world peace while losing war at home
Amid strengthening ties with Myanmar’s regime, Belarus – one of the junta’s major arms suppliers – invited Union Minister Ko Ko Hlaing to join an international security forum hosted in Minsk on Oct. 26 and 27.
Ko Ko Hlaing told the Eurasian security conference that Myanmar maintained an “unwavering dedication to peace and security” and went on to express concern over deepening global conflicts, according to regime-run media.
Of course, the words were nothing but a bitter joke to the people of Myanmar, who have been plunged into civil war and economic disaster since the minister’s military regime seized power in 2021.
His so-called concern over deepening global conflicts should really be redirected to Myanmar, following a huge offensive launched against the regime in northern Shan State on Oct. 27. The ethnic Brotherhood Alliance has made sweeping gains over the past week, dealing a major blow to the junta.
Junta boss’s last dance?
Reports that the Brotherhood Alliance has seized strategic towns, outposts and police stations, as well as a major trade route to China, have been greeted with joy by the majority of people in Myanmar.
At the same time, they couldn’t help wondering what Min Aung Hlaing was up to as his military suffered its worst defeats in the 2.5 years since his coup.
They got their answer on the fifth day of the offensive, when the junta boss appeared on state TV attending the 24th Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing Arts Competition in Naypyitaw. While he fiddled like Nero – presenting honorary certificates and hosting a dinner for the competition – the Brotherhood Alliance announced it had taken complete control of Chin Shwe Haw, a major trading town near the Chinese border. Meanwhile, the fighting was spreading into Kachin State and upper Sagaing Region.
The alliance flooded Facebook, Myanmar’s favorite social media network, with photos of camps and piles of weapons and ammunition they had seized, along with images of surrendering regime soldiers.
For junta supporters it was an appalling sight. But even worse was seeing their leader apparently oblivious to the emergency as he enjoyed a traditional dance and music show. Pro-junta channels duly lit up with frantic complaints about his laxness.
On Thursday, the seventh day of the attacks, Min Aung Hlaing finally roused himself and vowed to hit back at the offensive. But by that time, even his spokesperson was hesitantly admitting that the regime had lost three towns in northern Shan, while the alliance declared it had seized more than 90 regime bases.
Rare admission
Nearly a week after being hit by a resistance offensive in northern Shan State and neighboring Sagaing Region and Kachin State, the Myanmar junta reluctantly admitted it had lost control of three towns, including the trade hub of Chin Shwe Haw near the China border. For Myanmar people who had been following daily updates on the fighting, it was old news.
What was significant, however, was the regime’s rare admission of its losses. Normally shrouded in secrecy, the military has a tradition of not revealing the number of soldiers or bases it loses in battles. When it does give casualty numbers, they are usually downplayed, observers say.
But the loss of three towns to the Brotherhood Alliance was likely too large to cover up. By the time of the regime’s admission, the ethnic alliance was claiming to have seized more than 90 regime bases and forced the surrender of an entire junta brigade. And while it remains difficult to verify the precise numbers, photos released by the alliance the previous day offer strong evidence for its claims to have routed junta troops from dozens of bases. Will the regime admit the losses? Let’s wait and see.
Junta boss meets senior Chinese official amid Shan battle
The regime said the two sides discussed the ethnic armies’ ‘disruption of peace’ near the border, but a Chinese Embassy statement made no mention of the fighting. Read more:
Military’s Brigade 143 surrenders
Troops abandoned their base as the ethnic Brotherhood Alliance made sweeping gains in its offensive against the military regime in Shan State. Read more:
