Military Chief Chooses Magwe for First Field Visit as Focus Shifts to Central Myanmar

The Myanmar military’s new commander‑in‑chief, General Ye Win Oo has chosen Magwe Region for his first field inspection, underscoring the area’s strategic importance as a resistance stronghold bordering Rakhine and Chin states.

On Wednesday, Ye Win Oo met officers, soldiers and their families in Magwe, urging them to strengthen military, administrative and mobilization capacity while building close ties with local communities. He later visited a regional military hospital and comforted officers, police and junta-aligned militia members receiving treatment.

The regime, led by putschist-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing, recently offered to hold peace talks with ethnic armed groups, but continues to pressure People’s Defense Forces (PDFs)—which mainly operate in central Myanmar—to surrender. During Ye Win Oo’s trip, the junta released a statement again urging PDFs to surrender as soon as possible.

Analysts say Magwe was chosen because decisive battles are expected in nearby Rakhine and Chin.

“Normally, new military chiefs tend to visit places where they plan military operations. It appears that the military will use Magwe as a base to attack Rakhine and Chin,” said former army captain Zin Yaw, who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement after the 2021 coup.

He noted that aircraft from the junta’s airbase in Magwe conducted airstrikes on both Wednesday and Thursday, signaling planned attacks on the Yaw area, the gateway to Chin State.

Observers believe the military may soon shift its focus to central Myanmar, having secured a ceasefire in northern Shan thanks to Chinese mediation. Local resistance groups have been on alert since the Burma National Revolutionary Army led by prominent revolutionary Bo Nagar surrendered to the regime in neighboring Sagaing in February.

Local People’s Defense Force (LPDF) groups in Magwe Region recently issued a joint statement, pledging to continue to fight the regime together.

In Rakhine, the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) now controls 14 of 17 townships. The AA and the Myanmar military have been engaged in clashes for around a year at Nat Yay Kan Air Defense Base in Ngape Township, Magwe Region, which is separated from Rakhine’s Ann by the Arakan Mountains.

Senior members of the Chin People’s Union, an ethnic Chin group, visited Rakhine State in February, holding talks with AA chief Tun Myat Naing on the progress of the revolution, and ways they can collaborate.

Magwe, which also borders Sagaing, Mandalay and Bago regions, has seen some of the fiercest clashes since the 2021 coup. Analysts warn that it will not be easy for the military to crush the resistance there, even as Min Aung Hlaing’s regime seeks to win recognition for his government from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations through his “peace” overtures, while continuing airstrikes and ground offensives in ethnic regions.