War Nerd Radio — Subscriber Feed Radio War Nerd EP 566 — Myanmar Insurgency: Chin State
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Dec 7, 2025 Join Matt, a writer and analyst behind 'Adventures in Asia/Tingara', as he dives into the complexities of Myanmar's Chin State. He discusses its strategic location and diverse ethnic makeup, unraveling the fluid identities among its people. Matt outlines the timeline from the contested 2020 election to the post-coup resistance, detailing the rise of the National Unity Government and local defense forces. With insights into the ongoing civil war and regional dynamics involving India and China, this conversation is both profound and urgent.
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Chin State Is Highly Regionalized
- Chin State is a small, mountainous region (~half a million people) that acts as a gateway between India, Bangladesh and western Myanmar.
- Its extreme linguistic fragmentation explains why local politics and insurgency are highly regional and decentralized.
Election Dispute Sparked Nationwide Insurgency
- The 2020 NLD landslide triggered the Tatmadaw's claim of electoral fraud and set the stage for the 2021 coup.
- That coup transformed protests into an armed nationwide resistance including new PDFs and reactivated ethnic armies.
PDFs Versus Ethnic Armed Groups Are Distinct
- PDFs are pro-NUG grassroots militias focused on overthrowing the junta while ethnic armed groups pursue long-term autonomy or independence.
- These are distinct coalitions with different goals and battlefield behaviours.
