NIKKEI ASIA
LORCAN LOVETT,
May 23, 2024 09:31 JST
Numbers too small so far to be game changing in overall battle situation.
A British fighter helping train resistance forces in Chin State, Myanmar. (Photo by PDF Zoland)
BANGKOK -- Three years after Myanmar's military seized power in February 2021 and arrested its democratically elected leaders, foreign fighters have made their first known appearance with anti-regime forces in several parts of the country, giving a small boost to battle training and aiming to enhance the capabilities of resistance forces.
About a dozen foreigners are thought to have taken up arms against the regime, not as mercenaries but as adventurers receiving rations and accommodation at most. That estimate is based on interviews with resistance sources and foreign fighters, and is small in comparison to large conflicts elsewhere.
Analysts told Nikkei Asia that they are unlikely to have a significant impact on Myanmar's broader battlefield dynamics. But international volunteer fighters who spoke with Nikkei Asia hope their fighting experience can benefit established ethnic armed groups and newer resistance forces pushing back the regime in what analysts describe as a potentially decisive year for the spiraling, nationwide conflict.
The world of foreign fighters in Myanmar is secretive and murky, with the rare few who do agree to speak insisting on anonymity.
Jason, in his early 30s, is one. He served in the British army from 2009 for four years as an infantryman, including combat duties in Afghanistan, which led him to question the U.K.'s role in the conflict. Seeing an opportunity to support the underdog, he fought for Ukraine after Russia's invasion.
Earlier this year, a Burmese friend introduced Jason to the resistance in Myanmar. Initially wary of unwittingly engaging with regime-aligned militia, he found the resistance fighters to be remarkably kind and dedicated.
"They're probably the nicest people I've ever met," Jason told Nikkei.
After often starting their uprisings with little more than hunting rifles and slingshots -- and certainly no foreign military assistance -- ethnic armed groups and other resistance forces have gone on to take numerous military-held bases and small towns.
Nikkei has seen photos and video showing Jason using a sniper rifle and semi-automatic weapons against regime positions, but it has not been told about the results.
Jason described the fighting as "very up-close," involving "many small arms" and "old-school" trench and compound assaults. Barrel bombs dropped by the Myanmar Air Force to burn villages and farmhouses have been a new experience for him, however.
The British veteran believes that some tactical adjustments could help save fighters' lives as they take on a far more heavily armed adversary.
"You are always going to get deaths, but you can at least limit the chances," he said. One tactic would be to use smoke grenades to conceal fighters advancing across open spaces toward trenches.
"If the resistance can get hold of smoke, it will change the game for them, because they are more on the offensive now," he added.
Resistance forces are increasingly setting their sights on towns and cities held by the Myanmar military. The Naypyitaw regime has retaliated with scorched-earth tactics and indiscriminate airstrikes.
Jason said the resistance forces are better placed to teach him about jungle warfare. He sees his role as to help them with flanking maneuvers, ambushes, assaults in urban areas and other offensive tactics. He plans to organize an "in-depth, as quick as we can, infantry course" with the help of at least six former servicemen he will recruit from Australia, Canada, the U.K. and U.S. in the coming months.
Just as in Ukraine, arms and ammunition shortages are the main problem afflicting opposition forces nationwide. "They do not have it easy," he said.
Myanmar's military is well-trained and "should not be underestimated," but frontline conditions have become "a lot worse" for its troops. "Morale has tanked and they are scared of the resistance," he said.
Analysts told Nikkei Asia that they are unlikely to have a significant impact on Myanmar's broader battlefield dynamics. But international volunteer fighters who spoke with Nikkei Asia hope their fighting experience can benefit established ethnic armed groups and newer resistance forces pushing back the regime in what analysts describe as a potentially decisive year for the spiraling, nationwide conflict.
The world of foreign fighters in Myanmar is secretive and murky, with the rare few who do agree to speak insisting on anonymity.
Jason, in his early 30s, is one. He served in the British army from 2009 for four years as an infantryman, including combat duties in Afghanistan, which led him to question the U.K.'s role in the conflict. Seeing an opportunity to support the underdog, he fought for Ukraine after Russia's invasion.
Earlier this year, a Burmese friend introduced Jason to the resistance in Myanmar. Initially wary of unwittingly engaging with regime-aligned militia, he found the resistance fighters to be remarkably kind and dedicated.
"They're probably the nicest people I've ever met," Jason told Nikkei.
After often starting their uprisings with little more than hunting rifles and slingshots -- and certainly no foreign military assistance -- ethnic armed groups and other resistance forces have gone on to take numerous military-held bases and small towns.
Nikkei has seen photos and video showing Jason using a sniper rifle and semi-automatic weapons against regime positions, but it has not been told about the results.
Jason described the fighting as "very up-close," involving "many small arms" and "old-school" trench and compound assaults. Barrel bombs dropped by the Myanmar Air Force to burn villages and farmhouses have been a new experience for him, however.
The British veteran believes that some tactical adjustments could help save fighters' lives as they take on a far more heavily armed adversary.
"You are always going to get deaths, but you can at least limit the chances," he said. One tactic would be to use smoke grenades to conceal fighters advancing across open spaces toward trenches.
"If the resistance can get hold of smoke, it will change the game for them, because they are more on the offensive now," he added.
Resistance forces are increasingly setting their sights on towns and cities held by the Myanmar military. The Naypyitaw regime has retaliated with scorched-earth tactics and indiscriminate airstrikes.
Jason said the resistance forces are better placed to teach him about jungle warfare. He sees his role as to help them with flanking maneuvers, ambushes, assaults in urban areas and other offensive tactics. He plans to organize an "in-depth, as quick as we can, infantry course" with the help of at least six former servicemen he will recruit from Australia, Canada, the U.K. and U.S. in the coming months.
Just as in Ukraine, arms and ammunition shortages are the main problem afflicting opposition forces nationwide. "They do not have it easy," he said.
Myanmar's military is well-trained and "should not be underestimated," but frontline conditions have become "a lot worse" for its troops. "Morale has tanked and they are scared of the resistance," he said.
Azad, 24, a U.S. national with no formal military background, has been fighting alongside resistance forces in western Myanmar's Chin State for three months. He is planning courses on infantry skills, patrols and sniper training among other combat elements.
Azad operates with a British veteran who declined to disclose any information. Previously, he spent four years as a volunteer fighter with Kurdish forces in northern Syria. The two conflicts are similar "in so for as they are both asymmetric warfare," he said.
The presence of foreigners willing to take on risk has encouraged local people, he said over a phone from Chin State. The danger mostly comes from aerial bombardments.
"The troops are often unable to leave their strongholds," said Azad. "The junta is bombing and burning down towns in the east. Lots of people fleeing those towns are coming to join the guerrillas."
Miemie Winn Byrd, a Myanmar-born American scholar and former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, said resistance successes are encouraging more foreigners to join the fight back.
"The fact that some people are willing to volunteer is a psychological boost for Myanmar people, because they feel like they have been forgotten," she said.
She said the resistance needs more national-level coordination of combat and intelligence, and more psychological and civilian protection operations.
"I am sure foreign volunteers can help on a tactical level," said Byrd. "But being able to integrate all those lines of effort across the country would almost be game-changing assistance."
Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based analyst and expert on Myanmar's security situation, said that parts of Myanmar, notably eastern Karen State, have a long history of ex-foreign military adventurers operating in an independent capacity with ethnic insurgents. But he said the unexpected scale of the conflict after the military takeover, and the media attention it has attracted, have created more potential for foreign individuals to participate.
"Given current numbers of foreign fighters and trainers in Myanmar, the impact at the strategic level is zero," he said. "Even at the tactical level the impact of foreigners sharing niche skill-sets is still effectively imperceptible."
However, he believes that if their numbers were to swell from single digits into scores, and foreigners were to form their own combat units,"for reasons of language if no other," fighting alongside their Myanmar hosts, "we would then get into geopolitical territory that becomes problematic."
China would perceive the presence of even small international units as a foreign-sponsored threat, he said, likely raising concerns among Western countries and Myanmar's neighbors.
Azad operates with a British veteran who declined to disclose any information. Previously, he spent four years as a volunteer fighter with Kurdish forces in northern Syria. The two conflicts are similar "in so for as they are both asymmetric warfare," he said.
The presence of foreigners willing to take on risk has encouraged local people, he said over a phone from Chin State. The danger mostly comes from aerial bombardments.
"The troops are often unable to leave their strongholds," said Azad. "The junta is bombing and burning down towns in the east. Lots of people fleeing those towns are coming to join the guerrillas."
Miemie Winn Byrd, a Myanmar-born American scholar and former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, said resistance successes are encouraging more foreigners to join the fight back.
"The fact that some people are willing to volunteer is a psychological boost for Myanmar people, because they feel like they have been forgotten," she said.
She said the resistance needs more national-level coordination of combat and intelligence, and more psychological and civilian protection operations.
"I am sure foreign volunteers can help on a tactical level," said Byrd. "But being able to integrate all those lines of effort across the country would almost be game-changing assistance."
Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based analyst and expert on Myanmar's security situation, said that parts of Myanmar, notably eastern Karen State, have a long history of ex-foreign military adventurers operating in an independent capacity with ethnic insurgents. But he said the unexpected scale of the conflict after the military takeover, and the media attention it has attracted, have created more potential for foreign individuals to participate.
"Given current numbers of foreign fighters and trainers in Myanmar, the impact at the strategic level is zero," he said. "Even at the tactical level the impact of foreigners sharing niche skill-sets is still effectively imperceptible."
However, he believes that if their numbers were to swell from single digits into scores, and foreigners were to form their own combat units,"for reasons of language if no other," fighting alongside their Myanmar hosts, "we would then get into geopolitical territory that becomes problematic."
China would perceive the presence of even small international units as a foreign-sponsored threat, he said, likely raising concerns among Western countries and Myanmar's neighbors.
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