All Conflicts
WarAsia-PacificCivil War2016–presentReviewed Apr 5

Myanmar-Bangladesh Border Crisis

Delta badges show 30-day net PF movement

Myanmar’s conflict remains active as the junta consolidates power through a managed civilian transition

Escalation Trace

Myanmar’s conflict remains active as the junta consolidates power through a managed civilian

1 events
Mar 2026Mar 2026

Theater

Focus Region

Asia-Pacific

Geo-Linked Events

1

1982

Myanmar's Citizenship Law strips Rohingya Muslims of legal nationality, rendering approximately 1 million people stateless and laying the legal foundation for decades of persecution.

1948

Arakan (Rakhine State) is incorporated into independent Burma against the wishes of many ethnic Rakhine, seeding a separatist movement that would produce the Arakan Army decades later.

2009

The Arakan Army is founded in Kachin State, beginning as a small ethnic armed organization seeking Rakhine self-determination, entirely separate from the Rohingya cause.

2016

ARSA attacks on Myanmar border posts trigger Tatmadaw "clearance operations" in northern Rakhine State, marking the conflict's modern escalation.

2017

Following an ARSA assault on 30 police outposts, the Tatmadaw burns 288 villages, kills an estimated 10,000 Rohingya, and drives 740,000 into Bangladesh within three months; a UN fact-finding mission concludes there was genocidal intent.

2021

The military coup ousting Aung San Suu Kyi's government accelerates armed resistance across Myanmar, allowing the Arakan Army to dramatically expand recruitment and territorial ambitions in Rakhine State.

2023

The Arakan Army launches a sweeping offensive under Operation 1027, capturing the majority of Rakhine State from the junta by 2024 and becoming the de facto authority over most of the region.

2024

Bangladesh's Hasina government falls amid mass protests; interim leader Muhammad Yunus adopts a less cooperative stance toward Myanmar, complicating management of the world's largest refugee camp hosting over one million Rohingya at Cox's Bazar.

PRO-ARAKAN ARMY

Part of Brotherhood Alliance (China-border area). China has leverage over Arakan Army as it controls Bay of Bengal access and pipeline infrastructure to China

PRO-JUNTA

China (pragmatic). ROHINGYA: No effective patron. Bangladesh under pressure from both refugee burden and Arakan Army border incidents

China's leverage over Arakan Army is critical: AA controls Chinese pipeline from Bay of Bengal to Yunnan province. China brokered ceasefires when AA advances threatened pipeline. Classic infrastructure-as-leverage proxy relationship. Arakan Army is strongest Brotherhood Alliance member — controls most of Rakhine State including capital Sittwe surroundings.

Rohingya crisis called 'textbook ethnic cleansing' by UN. AA's near-total Rakhine State control represents dramatic shift in Myanmar's internal map. China's pipeline protection instinct is key external variable moderating conflict pace.

Mar 31, 2026Institutional reformNarrowing

Min Aung Hlaing Elected Vice-President in Myanmar Civilianization Process

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was elected vice-president by the lower house with 247 of 260 votes, initiating a scripted transition toward a nominally civilian presidency.

Apr 4, 2025Political transitionNarrowing

Min Aung Hlaing Elected Myanmar President via Controlled Parliamentary Vote

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was elected president by a military-dominated parliament, completing a transition from de facto military ruler to nominal civilian head of state.

Mar 18, 2025Institutional reformNarrowing

Min Aung Hlaing Elected Vice-President in Myanmar Managed Transition

Myanmar's lower house elected junta chief Min Aung Hlaing as vice-president with 247 of 260 votes, initiating a formal transfer from uniform to civilian title.