Min Aung Hlaing’s capital eroding
Nicknamed the ‘Mayor of Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw’ in sarcastic reference to his regime’s significant territory losses to anti-regime groups, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing reiterated his call for central and regional Yangon government officials to protect the commercial capital at a security and development meeting on Tuesday.
Yangon Command chief Major-Gen Zaw Hein reported the arrests of anti-regime fighters and seizures of weapons at the same meeting. Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged, however, that there was no such thing as a perfect security system.
After surviving a resistance assassination plan when he opened a bridge linking Yangon and Thanlyin in June, the junta boss ordered his cabinet members to stay on alert for “terrorist plots in Yangon, referring to anti-regime ambushes. He called on junta authorities to eradicate “terrorist dens” in the commercial capital and the surrounding region.
Guerilla attacks targeting former military officers and others close to the regime were a frequent occurrence in Yangon until mid-2023. Attacks on junta targets, as well as flash mob protests, still take place from time to time in Yangon.
Pitching poll plan to UN reps
Representatives of United Nations agencies in Myanmar had no choice but to listen in appalled silence on Tuesday as the junta’s foreign minister sought their support for an “election campaign” being fuelled by war crimes.
During the briefing in Naypyitaw, Than Swe urged the UN reps to relay information about the regime’s activities and the situation in Myanmar to the international community “in an objective and impartial manner.”
He also gave details of the junta’s ongoing census campaign to compile voter lists for the election, which it plans to hold next year. He added that the regime had invited anti-regime groups to resolve the conflict by participating in the election.
The briefing came less than two months after UN investigators reported that crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar military have “escalated at an alarming rate”.
The report documented aerial attacks on civilian targets including schools, religious buildings and hospitals.
Junta airstrikes since the February 2021 coup have killed over 1,700 civilians and wounded more than 2,400 as of August 31 this year, according to independent research group Nyan Lin Thit Analytica. Meanwhile, the regime has detained over 27,000 opponents, with more than 21,000 still in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Condemnation from the international community, including the UN and ASEAN, has failed to halt the regime’s campaign of war crimes against civilians. Every time the junta is hit by UN censure or resolutions, it responds by accusing the global body of bias.
UN representatives in Myanmar, meanwhile, are compelled to cooperate with the junta to secure humanitarian access to regime-controlled areas.
Distress call for Navy in Rakhine
Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday met with regional delegations during the 18th ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting in Naypyitaw, marking Myanmar’s second time hosting the event.
The junta boss called for cooperation in maritime security and disaster response across ASEAN, emphasizing that Myanmar desires friendly relations with all members.
However, not a single ASEAN country sent its naval chief to the meeting. Brunei sent its ‘acting’ navy commander while the other attendees sent deputy navy chiefs, directors-general or directors holding the rank of captain or colonel. Singapore skipped the meeting entirely.
When Myanmar hosted the ASEAN Navy Chiefs’ Meeting for the first time in August 2015, all ASEAN countries sent delegations and no less than seven navy chiefs took part in the talks.
As Min Aung Hlaing discussed the security of ASEAN waters on Thursday, his Navy was staring at defeat in Rakhine, having ceded bases to the ethnic Arakan Army, which is rapidly gaining control of the coastal state despite lacking naval power.
