• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.235-276
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• 2013

Recent incidents of lethal violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar between the majority Buddhist Rakhine and the Muslim Rohingya have been the source of much concern for the international community. Unlike the past, the killings and incendiary attacks by both communities have intensified to a critical level, proving to be a great liability for the forward-thinking Myanmar government, whose recent transition to civilian rule after a long military one has made it eager to move on. The roots of the conflict trace back to the military regime, who branded the Rohingyas living in Rakhine state as illegal immigrants and refused to confer upon them official recognition as Myanmar citizens. The discord then moved to an ethnic conflict, pitting the Rohingya not merely against the Myanmar government but rather the majority Buddhist Rakhine. The conflict, as it has developed into the present, is an immensely complicated one that simultaneously encompasses ethnic and religious issues, all intertwined together. This study aims to see how the two ethnic groups have come to resort to such violence, despite having lived in each other's presence for many centuries, and why the violence persists. It will attempt to reconcile the fact that Rakhine had historically been a place of convergence for two groups, the Buddhist Rakhine and the Rakhine Muslim(the Rohingya). Based on the argument, this study also seeks to uncover, identify, and understand the Rohingya identity with the extreme arguments exhibited by both sides, and from there, locate the underlying causes of the greater religio-ethnic conflict in Rakhine that has so ravaged the place as of recent.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.29-39
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• 2013

This paper deals with the study of a manuscript on Rakhine history which is deposited today in Oriental and India Office Collection of the British Library as the accession number OR 3465 A. The External Criticism of this manuscript shows that it is a manuscript, which was commissioned Nga Mi to compile by Sir Arthur P. Phayre by making references of the existing Rakhine chronicles in the early colonial period, as Phayre wanted a historical account with an outline of the royal dynasties. The Internal Criticism reveals that the compiler Nga Mi did not invent the writing of his own but drawn the sources from various Rakhine chronicles in compiling his work. And Sir Arthur Phayre who used this Nga Mi Chronicle or OR 3465 A as the chief source in writing Rakhine history. He did not analyse the mythical, supernatural and improbable elements in Nga Mi Rakhine Razawin. Phayre did not problematicize any historical issue from Nga Mi Chronicle. One of the outstanding examples of the legend of King Min Saw Mon is discussed in this paper. As Arthur Phayre took this account from Nga Mi Chronicle and framed the story into a convincing narrative in his "History of Burma", the scholars after Phayre have continued to present the legend as a historical fact.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.133-153
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• 2015

The Rakhine (Arakanese) from present-day Rakhine State (Arakan) in Western Myanmar and the Marma from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Southeast Bangladesh originated from the same region, share the same culture and practice the same religion. However, the people from CHT have developed a distinctive identity and are individualized by a different name "Marma". This development raises a number of historical questions. This paper explores how the Arakanese descendants became "Marma" in Bangladesh.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.93-104
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• 2009

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.210-236
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• 2021

China's Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure connectivity and other projects are presented in much of the discourse as a grand strategy to trap developing nations in debt, to exert asymmetric power and construct a new world economic order. The asymmetric relationship between China and Myanmar might therefore be expected to generate a range of political risks for stakeholders. Myanmar itself presents a "perfect storm" of problems, with dysfunctional governance, civil conflict, under-development and growing economic dependence on China. The Kyaukphyu port project and associated Special Economic Zone in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state is investigated as a case study of risks on the Belt and Road. While worst case fears China might seize military control of the port appear unlikely, at least in current conditions, empirical observation indicates the complexity on the ground generates an array of other risks - as well as opportunities, should conditions allow. Further, despite challenges and constrained capacity, Myanmar governments have demonstrated agency, including by re-negotiating control and costs of the Kyaukphyu project. The case underlines that conditions are more complicated than simply China's asymmetric power. A sceptical approach is taken to normative discourses in order to build inductive understanding of how stakeholders and local experts perceive dynamics underway. A political risk approach is deployed to develop a framework to identify, analyse and assess risks for actors in relation to the Kyaukphyu project. The research findings are presented on an interim basis, given current constraints on field interviews due to the current crisis.