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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
World
Lorcan Lovett

China, India watch as Arakan Army advances on key western frontier

AA Myanmar Anthony Davis Rakhine India China ULA Bangladesh Arakan Army Sittwe
Homes burn at the site of a suspected air strike carried out by Myanmar's military at Kyauk Ni Maw village in Ramree island, western Rakhine State, in January 2025 [File: Handout/Arakan Army via AFP]

Rakhine State stands at a pivotal moment as the Arakan Army (AA) edges closer to seizing control of Myanmar’s strategic western frontier region, a shift in power that could redefine both the country’s civil war and regional geopolitics.

While Myanmar’s military government has clawed back territory elsewhere in the country, the AA now controls 14 of 17 townships in Rakhine, which is situated on the Bay of Bengal in the country’s west and shares a border with Bangladesh.

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