New reports from this week say that one of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army has claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh.

Rakhine has become a focal point for Myanmar’s nationwide civil war, in which pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces seeking autonomy battle the country’s military rulers, who took power in 2021 after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

This follows just less than a week after a second major Myanmar ethnic rebel group says it is ready for China-mediated talks with the junta to end more than a year of renewed fighting that has ravaged areas along the Chinese border.

On this episode of Morning Shot, we’ll be speaking with Dr Felix Tan, an independent political observer who lectures on International Relations and has published works on Myanmar shares his insights on what’s fuelling Myanmar’s civil war and whether there’s a realistic path to reconciliation and stability for the country.

Presented by: Emaad Akhtar
Produced & Edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)