Myanmar junta defending last naval base in Rakhine State’s Thandwe Township

The Arakan Army (AA) attacked the regime’s last remaining naval base in Thandwe, Rakhine State this week as the military fortified its defences in the three Rakhine State townships where it maintains control. After taking control of Thandwe Township—home to the popular Ngapali beach resort—in the second week of July, the AA initiated drone and artillery strikes on the Maung Shwe Lay naval base five days ago. According to a local resident, fighting and bombing also occurred in Sin Din Ka Lay village, some five miles east of the naval base, on July 22. "Yesterday evening, they came and fired from a plane. A bomb fell in Sin Din Ka Lay village, killing one person and injuring another. We don't know yet if the victims were male or female," the resident said. The source also said that the AA had evacuated the villages of Sin Din Ka Lay, Kywe Thauk, and Tha Yet Pin Kwin—all within a few miles of the base—to keep residents safe from the bombs. Junta forces have also stationed in Thit Kauk and Yae Hpyu Aing villages, the Thandwe Township resident said, positioning themselves to slow the AA fighters’ overland advance to the Maung Shwe Lay naval base. They have also destroyed bridges and roads to hinder the AA's access. "When approaching the naval base from the east, you'll reach Tha Yet Pin Kwin, and a bridge near there has been destroyed. From this side, there’s a route going over the hills before you reach Kyauk Gyi, and we’ve heard that a bridge there was also destroyed," he said. The AA captured two battalion bases in Thandwe this month—the Infantry Battalion (IB) 55 base on July 9 and the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 566 base on June 27—and reportedly defeated more than one battalion of reinforcement troops that the junta deployed to the area. Since the capture of the two battalion bases, the Maung Shwe Lay base has become vital for the junta’s capacity to maintain positions in Thandwe Township. The AA is continuing to attack areas where junta forces are still operating in the township and has been targeting areas where they believe the AA is active with heavy artillery shelling from the naval base. The airport and urban centre of Thandwe Township are now under the AA’s control, but they are not admitting civilians into these areas due to the threats of junta shelling and airstrikes. Defensive preparations in Gwa Township The AA—Rakhine state’s largest and most powerful ethnic armed organisation—has publicly declared that it intends to force the Myanmar military out of all its bases in Rakhine State. Now on the verge of losing Thandwe Township to the AA, junta forces are reportedly tightening security and preparing stronger defences in the last three townships of Rakhine State where the AA has not yet initiated any attacks: Gwa, Taungup, and Manaung. "The number of checkpoints has increased noticeably. In Kyeintali alone, there are two checkpoints now. There's also one at Sat Thwar," a resident of the town of Kyeintali in Gwa Township said. He added that new checkpoints had also been established in Gwa in the last two months, and that the Sat Thwar bridge checkpoint appeared only 15 days before. “It's still possible to travel to Kyeintali and Gwa but the inspections are very strict. They conduct checks before allowing people to pass,” he said. Map showing sites of recent clashes near the border between Thandwe and Gwa townships In Chin Ngwei village—located on the Thandwe-Gwa township line some three miles north of Kyeintali, junta forces are manning a police battalion base and military outpost, according to Gwa Township residents. Junta authorities reportedly drove around Kyeintali earlier this month using loudspeakers to warn residents not to approach within a certain distance of the bases, claiming they had set landmines around them. The junta forces have received more weapons and reinforcement troops since June, according to a Gwa resident. "They come by car from Ayeyarwady Region. At night, they also bring backhoes from the town to build fortifications at the bases," the resident said. According to the resident of Kyeintali, residents of the town have struggled to make a living due to the junta’s current prohibitions on boat travel and fishing in the area’s rivers and streams. "A couple of days ago, they announced that motorised boats are not allowed to go out. This has been causing a lot of hardship for people living here," he said. The junta’s strict restrictions on travel have also reportedly aggravated local people’s difficulties, causing scarcities of rice, medicine, and fuel in Gwa Township. The junta’s shrinking control in Rakhine State The military is also reportedly fortifying its defences in Taungup—the township north of Thandwe where the Myanmar army’s Military Operations Command 5 (MOC-5) headquarters is located. A resident of the town said that junta forces have stationed in high-rise buildings. Some have also set up outposts on the town’s university campus. “So far, we haven’t seen any reinforcements from the army. About a month ago, they did bring in reinforcements with three helicopters,” the Taungup resident said. He added that because of AA blockades around Taungup, the junta was unable to send reinforcements to the town by ground or water and would have to airlift them. \ While no fighting has occurred recently in Taungup, many of the town’s civilian inhabitants have fled out of fear that battles could break out at any time. “Law and order are not functioning normally,” another of the town’s residents said. “There's been a major increase in theft. While there are still some police around, many have fled.” The number of military checkpoints has also reportedly grown in Manaung Township, an island in the Bay of Bengal some seven miles offshore from the rest of Rakhine State. Checkpoints are now operating at the town’s entrances and exits as well as the airport, locals said. The military’s efforts to strengthen defences in the townships still under its control, as well as local inhabitants’ decisions to flee their homes, are due to anticipation that clashes will spread from Thandwe Township once the AA has taken full control there. The AA has already captured military outposts in 14 of Rakhine State’s 17 townships and has taken full control of nine, namely Myebon, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, Pauktaw, Ramree, Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, and Buthidaung in Rakhine State. The group also controls the neighbouring Paletwa Township in southern Chin State. The AA has also continued offensive operations in the state aimed at capturing the remaining junta outposts in Maungdaw Township and the Western Regional Military Command headquarters in Ann Township.

Myanmar junta defending last naval base in Rakhine State’s Thandwe Township

While struggling to hold its last naval station in Thandwe, the junta has tightened security in the last three townships it controls in the state: Gwa, Taungup, and Manaung

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