Myanmar resistance coalition SCEF holds first formal talks with Arakan Army leadership

Arakan Army Commander-in-chief Twan Mrat Naing met with the Muslim community in Maungdaw Township, northern Arakan State, on Aug. 30. 2025. (Credit: CJ)

In a landmark development for Myanmar’s resistance movement, the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF)—the nation’s premier resistance coalition—held its first publicly disclosed formal meeting with top leadership of the ethnic Rakhine armed group, the Arakan Army (AA), on July 23.

The virtual high-level session brought together key leaders from both organizations to discuss future political alignment, strategic coordination, and emergency humanitarian relief for flood-stricken communities in western Myanmar.

Key leadership & high-level representation

The meeting represented a major convergence between the multi-party resistance coalition established on March 30, and one of the country’s most militarily formidable Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs).