4/4/2025
Salai Hsam Ko
Introduction
This article aims to analyze both the escalating tensions and the positive relations between communities, particularly the Chin and Rakhine, as well as the armed groups, notably CDF-Paletwa and the Arakan Army, in Paletwa Township, Chin State. The clashes between Chin and Rakhine have been rooted in tension over Paletwa for the past decade. Geopolitically, the diaspora of the Chin and Rakhine peoples is similarly distributed across the two states.
According to Narinjara News, as of October 2023, the estimated population in Rakhine State, Myanmar, is approximately 3.4 million people. Regarding to the 1983 Census, 64,404 Chin population resided in Rakhine State, which is 4% of Rakhine’s population at that time. According to the 2014 Census, the total population of Chin State was 478801, with the Rakhine population estimated at approximately 16,472, accounting for 3.4 % of the Chin State’s total population. This diaspora dynamic influences both states.
After the military coup on February 1, 2021, the Paletwa became a slumped region due to the cynical efforts by both the Military Junta and the Arakan Army.In the aftermath of the region’s capture on January 15, 2024, communal complicity in land ownership issues became evident. Rakhine-based organizations launched media propaganda. According to the Global Arakan Network (GAN) (March 24, 2025), an article titled “The Region of Paletwa: The Ancestral Land of The Arakanese Peopl’ was propagated both domestically and internationally.
Chinland Defense Force- Paletwa
According to the Statement of Chinland Defense Force- Paletwa (2021), the Chinland Defense Force- Paletwa is one of the township-based resistance groups that was established on April 28, 2021, to respond to the military coup in Myanmar, aiming to protect Paletwa Township in southern Chin State from the ruling military Junta. Interim Khumi Affair Coordination Council-IKACC is a coordination body to oversee the CDF-Palewa and Paletwa Council. In mid-November 2021, CDF-Paletwa launched its inaugural attacks against junta forces. Utilizing explosives, they targeted military personnel traveling towards Paletwa Town from Matupi Town, resulting in the deaths of 11 soldiers. According to CDF-Paletwa’s 3 years anniversary report, the offensives were conducted 11 times with the military Junta within 3 years in Paletwa Township, Chin State. From the year of 2022-2024, CDF-Paletwa, in coordination with other Chin resistance groups such as Chinland Joint Defense Committee (CJDC), engaged in significant battles against military troops in Chin State. The Paletwa Council is a member of the Chinland Council, which is the legislature of the self-governing polity the State of Chinland. It was formed on 6 December 2023 following the adoption of the Chinland Constitution 2023 by the Chinland Convention that was ratified by 235 representatives of various Chin Communities from Chin State. According to the CDF-Paletwa Defense Secretary’s Record, 23 combatants’ lives had been sacrificed and more than 47 combatants were wounded during the revolution. One-third areas of Paletwa are directly controlled by CDF-Paletwa, including 107 villages of 331 Villages in Paletwa, according to the 2014 census.
The Initiative Talk between Paletwa Council/CDF-Paletwa and ULA/AA
The initiative talk between the Paletwa Council (PC) and ULA/AA was uncandidly conducted during August 2024 in the AA-controlled area. This ambiguous meeting faced strong criticism from local residents, who viewed it with suspicion. As the critical matter, this article provides an in-depth analysis of the meeting’s agendas and agreements, which are as follows:
(1) To collaborate on Education and Health Care within the respective controlled areas.
(2) To work together in establishing people-centered schools.
(3) To support each other in providing public services, particularly in transportation, environmental conservation, and protection.
(4) To promote and maintain a drug-free zone.
(5) To protect and care for internally displaced persons (DPs) within designated administrative areas without any discrimination.
(6) To respect and recognize each party’s authority when passing through the respective controlled areas.
(7) To release the detainees, including combatants, and innocent civilians.
The second meeting was conducted on February 14, 2025, to enhance the following agreements.
(1) To promote the social welfare of the residents in both controlled areas.
(2) To build a mutual understanding to prevent food shortages.
(3) To relocate the AA military camps from CDF-Paletwa’s Controlled Areas.
(4) To collaborate on taxation policies.
According to the IKACC President’s interview with the Chin World Media, the relationship between the Paletwa Council/CDF-Paletwa and ULA/AA is not at the stage of a formal alliance but is progressing positively toward mutual cooperation.
Opinionative suggestions
Hypothetical situations: Aftermath of the capture of the region by Arakan Army
(1) Cynical efforts should not be complicit by any organization in that region. We local people deserve sweeping changes for communal peace and sustainable coexistence, and conviviality. Such a thing of propaganda should not be dubbed for the occasion of unity. It is an attempt at decimation of the local people. We are not the poor sap politically or socially. The situation is unnervingly lifelike due to geopolitical strife in Palewa, Chin State. We have to brace our dignity and identity through our own land.
(2) The theme of diplomatic discussion is to envoys our dismantled voices internally or internationally. We, the local people, have been endorsing the substantive consequences of the civil war since 2015. The tension interplay violations against the local communities. Paletwa is a slumped area with escalating outbreaks of violence. Need to preserve the essence of blissful peace in the community. After capturing the two towns- Paletwa and Sami, the people have been despised and have eliminated the relationship between the two communities. We are not unpatriotic people; the local community has been defiant by the Arakan Army according to conscription laws and labor forces since 2024. This is a milestone to the critical exposure that unrelenting propaganda has attributed to the unstable conditions of the region. Our humility bridges for a respectable relationship and reduces communal imperfection.
(3) The organization’s image will be tarnished, while the people’s resolve for liberation will be strengthened due to its ruthless actions against the people. As protesters, me must always demand an immediate halt to any brutal violations on innocent civilians. Furthermore, we must resist any conscription law imposed by any organization, as it violates civil and fundamental rights.
In conclusion, this tension is not a prolonged and protracted conflict and will not escalate into communal strife if the relevant stakeholders engage sincerely and responsibly. For a genius federal state, we must respect each other’s identity, ownership, and dignity.
