Amidst the devastating tragedy of an earthquake will the Myanmar military and the resistance reconcile?
On 28 March, at approximately 12:51 pm local time, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck about 21 kilometres northeast of the Mandalay Seismological Observatory as per Global New Light of Myanmar.
In response, the National Disaster Management Committee declared a state of emergency in the affected areas of Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago, and Magway Regions, northeastern Shan State and the Nay Pyi Taw Council Area.
Importantly many of these areas are seeing intense fighting between the Myanmar military and the resistance forces.
The main airport in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw has been closed after a major earthquake caused its air traffic control tower to collapse, killing at least six people, according to sources.
Chinese relief planes landed in Yangon and aid moved towards the North as the ATC at Naypyitaw had collapsed.
India China and Russia amongst others have responded to the aid request by the Myanmar military. Myanmar official media reported that “Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing contacted Prime Minister of India Mr Narendra Modi yesterday afternoon to discuss aid for losses and damage in Myanmar affected by the powerful earthquake..”
In his conversation, the Prime Minister of India stated that the entire nation of India is deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that occurred in Myanmar. He expressed that all Indian citizens mourn the losses and damages suffered by Myanmar.
The Senior General expressed his thanks to the Indian Prime Minister for his assistance and encouragement. He said he is confident that he will hold bilateral talks with the Indian Prime Minister shortly. He reiterated thanks for the encouragement and aid of India.
Importantly the Indian Prime Minister’s tweet referred to the Myanmar military commander as Senior General and did not acknowledge him as the Chairman of the State Administration Council.
President Donald Trump vowed the United States would assist Myanmar after it was hit by a huge earthquake, following a rare plea for aid by the South-east Asian nation’s ruling junta.
“It’s terrible,” Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about the quake when asked if he would respond to the appeal by Myanmar’s military rulers.
Times of India reported that anti-coup fighters in Myanmar declared a two-week ceasefire in parts of the country to allow rescue and relief efforts after a devastating earthquake.
The People's Defence Force (PDF), an armed group opposing the military junta, said it would pause offensive operations in affected areas from March 30, 2025, while continuing defensive actions as per the Times.
The Shadow "National Unity Government" (NUG), which pledged to work with the UN and NGOs to ensure the safety of relief operations and has appealed to the authorities to deliver aid to it. It is not clear how this would be feasilbe
The military is not likely to respond to the pause in offensive operations as the two sides are locked in intense fighting across multiple Regions and States of Myanmar. Thousands have been displaced while there have been heavy civilian casualties amidst the military operations. The Myanmar military has targeted the resistance as terrorists and has refused many attempts by ASEAN in the past four years since April 2021 for a reconciliation.
The tragedy of an earthquake with over 1000 deaths already and thousands likely to be without shelter maybe an opportunity for the two sides to reconcile. In the areas affected in North Central Myanmar, the militanry and the resistance control varying swathes of land, making it important for coordination for aid to reach the people.
Yet the hardened approach of the military denotes that the prospect appears to be a dim one. This is one case we would be happy to be proven wrong.
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