Bangladesh Defends Contact with Myanmar’s Arakan Army

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Bangladesh has publicly defended its informal communication with Myanmar’s Arakan Army (AA), citing national interest and changing realities along its shared border.

 

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Foreign Ministry Advisor Touhid Hossain acknowledged that Bangladesh’s 270-kilometre frontier with Myanmar is now entirely controlled by non-state actors. “The central government has no authority there,” he said, adding that some level of engagement with the AA had become a “necessity”.

 

The AA, an ethnic armed group, has seized control of most of Rakhine State and neighbouring Paletwa Township since launching a major offensive against Myanmar’s military regime in late 2023. Its rapid advances, including the capture of Maungdaw Township last December, mean that Bangladesh now faces a fundamentally different border dynamic.

 

Dhaka first admitted to opening lines of communication with the AA late last year. While officials stress that these are unofficial contacts, Hossain was clear: “We must maintain whatever level of engagement is necessary.”

 

The move comes amid longstanding tensions over the Rohingya refugee crisis. More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled into Bangladesh following brutal military crackdowns in 2017, and all attempts at repatriation have since failed. Hossain argued that engagement with the AA could aid in eventually securing their safe return.

 

Pressed on whether such contact risks entangling Bangladesh in Myanmar’s internal affairs, Hossain said bluntly: “The conflict in Myanmar is directly linked to our national interest... we must do whatever is necessary.”

 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, has also agreed to a UN proposal to open a humanitarian assistance channel into conflict-hit Rakhine — a move seen as part of a broader strategy to manage instability on its doorstep.

 

As Myanmar’s civil conflict deepens, Dhaka’s pragmatic approach signals a clear shift: principles of non-interference may be yielding to urgent realities on the ground.

 

 

-2025-04-29