AA, Myanmar junta engage in fierce fighting near Rakhine State’s largest naval base

Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) are engaging in major clashes near the Dhanyawadi Naval Base in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township, according to local sources. Fighting near the base—the largest in the state—began with a series of attacks on AA positions in the villages of Simaw and Kyattain on February 20, the sources said. “The conflict has been ongoing from that day until now. The junta has been conducting airstrikes at least twice a day since the fighting began,” a local man told Myanmar Now on Monday. Residents of several villages near the base, including Simaw, Kyattain, Sittaw, Shauk Chaung, Sayay, and Ukin, have fled the clashes, the man added. On Saturday, at least one local civilian, a 70-year-old man named Bi Lu from Ukin, was killed by a junta airstrike, and a number of Simaw residents were also injured, according to the same source. “The fighting is now at its most intense,” the man said. A resident of Kyaukphyu reported hearing the sound of fighting, but said the situation in the town remains normal. “We can hear artillery fire and the sound of jet fighters striking, but the town itself is calm. The fighting seems to be happening in areas a bit far away, around the Dhanyawadi Naval Base,” he said. The headquarters of the base is located along the route used by tankers to transport oil for the China-Myanmar oil pipeline, and is only about five miles from the Chinese-invested Kyaukphyu port. In addition to the Dhanyawadi base, there are two other naval installations in the area—the Taungmaw Gyi and Ohnkywain naval bases—as well as three army bases. In early February, artillery fire from these bases forced residents of around 10 villages to flee, according to local sources. Kyaukphyu is one of only three townships in Rakhine State still under junta control. Since launching its current offensive in November 2023, the AA has captured 14 townships in Rakhine State—Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Myebon, Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Ramree, Ann, Gwa, Thandwe, and Taungup—as well as Paletwa in southern Chin State. AA forces currently have Kyaukphyu surrounded, and have been shelling the Rakhine State capital Sittwe, which is also under junta control. In response, the military has been conducting airstrikes on nearby Pauktaw and Ponnagyun townships. While the AA has so far not waged a major push to take Manaung, the third township still controlled by the regime, it has been attacking junta positions outside of Rakhine State, including in Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Magway regions. Kyaukphyu is the western terminus of a Chinese-owned crude oil pipeline that extends nearly 800km across Rakhine State, Magway and Mandalay regions, and Shan State before reaching China’s Yunnan Province. Another pipeline carrying natural gas starts from Ramree Island, south of Kyaukphyu. The main control stations for the pipeline are located in Kyaukphyu. The regime has not released any news about the fighting in Kyaukphyu Township, but announced last Friday that junta ministers met with representatives of China’s CITIC Limited in Naypyitaw to discuss the implementation of the Chinese-backed Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone deep-sea port project. In June of last year, Chinese embassy officials also conducted a three-day inspection of the oil and natural gas pipeline projects in Kyaukphyu.

AA, Myanmar junta engage in fierce fighting near Rakhine State’s largest naval base

The fighting, which is also close to major Chinese-backed sea-port and pipeline projects, comes as regime officials meet Chinese investors in Naypyitaw

Subscribe for full access

New limits on movement upend lives, long-held traditions on India-Myanmar border

Fear, mistrust grow as India collects biometrics from Myanmar refugees

Khin Yi’s conflict of interest

Case of Kani schoolteacher and family’s murder still unsolved

Myanmar military closes in on Singu

Resistance officials reiterate rejection of Chinese-brokered terms for northern Shan State, Mogok

‘Utterly inhumane’: Mrauk-U witnesses recount hospital airstrike horror

Dozens killed in Myanmar junta airstrike on hospital in Rakhine State

Silent strike empties streets across Myanmar as public rejects junta’s election

KIA set to fully resume rare earth mining in captured ‘special region’

Myanmar junta airstrikes kill three civilians sheltering in Rakhine State monastery

Myanmar’s factories cling to life as power shortages persist

Bought Out or Seized: Mandalay farmers face impossible choices amid land grab

Myanmar junta partners with Chinese firm to build natural gas terminal despite Rakhine State conflict

Thai officials call on Myanmar regime to crack down on fraud, trafficking gangs on Thai-Karen State border

Myanmar military continues to lose ground to anti-junta forces in northern Shan State

Despite escalating violence, Myanmar junta leader says elections will proceed

NUG-founded bank set to sell shares to meet ‘emergency needs’

Myanmar’s junta bears ‘sole responsibility’ for Suu Kyi’s health—NLD

Karenni youth fight for freedom at the cost of their lives and limbs

The mothers of the Magway resistance

A Myanmar artist finds freedom behind bars—by portraying prisoners’ oppression

As Myanmar’s revolution beckons, a new breed of activist photographers heeds the call

The man behind the Myanmar junta’s campaign of terror in Sagaing

Authorities tighten restrictions on passport process for Myanmar nationals in Thailand

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles