Myanmar military scales back annual parade as fighting escalates

Regime prioritizes combating growing resistance by ethnic minority armed groups

20240328 Myanmar military parade

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing inspects officers during a parade to commemorate Myanmar's 79th Armed Forces Day on March 27. © AP

Nikkei staff writers

BANGKOK/NAYPYITAW -- The annual parade to mark Myanmar's Armed Forces Day took place on Wednesday night in the capital Naypyitaw with fewer personnel and less weaponry than usual, indicating the military is prioritizing handling escalating offensives by ethnic minority armed groups.

Armed Forces Day, tracing back to the 1945 uprising against Japan, is a key event in the military's calendar, but only 7,750 personnel joined this year's parade, down from 8,424 in 2023.

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