People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

Alliances

Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Arakan Army (AA), All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF), People’s Defense Forces under the Mogok Technical Operation Command, Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA), Karenni National Defense Force (KNDF), Yekhaung Pyaukkyar, People’s Revolutionary Alliance-Magway, Revolutionary Guerrilla Force, Social Democratic Party, People’s Revolutionary Front, Progressive Youth Union, Anti-Dictatorship Revolution People’s Army, Central Area Ethnic Revolutionary Force, Tanintharyi People’s Defense Force. 

Political Organization

Communist Party of Burma (CPB) 

History in Brief

Established – 15 March 2021

Areas of ​​operation – Yinmabin District, Ayadaw, Kanbalu, Shwebo, Ye-U, Khin-U, and Taze Townships in Sagaing Region; Myingyan District, Mogok Township, and Madaya Township in Mandalay Region; Pakokku District in Magway Region; and townships in northern Shan State and Tanintharyi Region.

Area of ​​control – None

Estimated strength – Approximately 3,000

Leaders – Unknown

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had been working on the establishment of an army even before the military staged the coup. Among those who led the establishment of the PLA were youth leaders of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions from Shwebo District, Sagaing Region. They embraced communism and prepared to re-establish an armed resistance based on communist ideology since early 2017.

The PLA then contacted the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in 2018 and received basic military training in Laiza, the KIA headquarters. Although training was completed in 2018, the PLA has not yet been able to establish an armed force. After the SAC coup, young people who would later become PLA members organized underground groups of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) and carried out underground activities. The underground CPBs are the elements of the CPB that remains after the organization disbanded in 1989, when the Kokang, Wa, and Mongla groups split off.

The 32 young people who had received military training from the KIA established the PLA on 15 March 2021. The political wing of the PLA is designated as the CPB and adheres to the CPB’s political policies. The CPB is also recognized as the PLA’s parent organization, and the deceased Chairperson Thakin Ba Thein Tin and the Central Committee members are still designated as the Chairperson and Central Committee members of the PLA. In the future, leaders will be re-elected after the PLA Central Committee meeting is held. The current leadership of the PLA is headed by the CPB Central Advocacy Committee led by General Secretary Comrade Tun Set. The PLA’s position is to liberate the oppressed classes from the grip of the military dictatorship and to put the interests of the oppressed classes first. Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism are designated as the guiding principles of the organization.

In addition to the KIA, the PLA conducts joint operations with the Three Brotherhood Alliance (3BHA) – the Arakan Army (AA), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). On 27 October 2023, the PLA participated in the 3BHA’s ‘Operation 1027’ in northern Shan State. Through ‘Operation 1027-Part 2’, they also participated with the MNDAA and TNLA in battles which resulted in the capture of Lashio and Mongmit.   

Mission and Objectives

The PLA has two objectives and four pledges.

The objectives of the PLA

1. To fight against the military dictatorship and the military dictator, and to wage a revolutionary war based on Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism for the full liberation of all oppressed people.

2. To build a new people’s democratic republic led by the proletariat after the revolution is completed.

The four pledges of the PLA

1. We will always put the interests of the oppressed people first.

2. We will fight until the military dictatorship is completely abolished.

3. We will fight and eliminate evil landlordism and the evil capitalism that exploits the oppressed people economically, socially, and politically.

4. We will carry out the orders and responsibilities given by the People’s Liberation Army at the expense of our lives.

Leaders and Central Committee Members 

Thakin Ba Thein Tin and other members of the Central Committee, who had been in charge of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) at the time of its dissolution in 1989, are still designated as the current Chairperson and members of the PLA’s Central Committee. The PLA is currently led by Comrade Tun Set, who is the General Secretary. The remaining members of the Central Committee have not been publicly announced.

Organization Participation

None

Political and Military Stance since the Coup

The PLA was formed as a new armed force after the coup to overthrow the State Administration Council (SAC) through armed resistance and establish a new state. The PLA approached the powerful ethnic resistance organizations (EROs) based in northern Myanmar and were trained in military tactics and received other assistance. The PLA has been fighting alongside EROs against SAC forces.

In addition, the PLA has declared that the following are considered allies: labor unions, farmers’ unions, student unions, youth unions, ethnic armed organizations in Myanmar, as well as all individuals, groups, organizations, and armed forces that are non-reactionary class and that oppose the military dictatorship.

Liaison Offices

 None

Brigades

The following military regions are organized under the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

No.	Military Regions	Areas of Operation
1	No. 1 Military Region	Sagaing Region
2	No. 2 Military Region	Ta’ang Region, Shan State
3	No. 4 Military Region	Ayeyarwady Delta Region
4	No. 8 Military Region	Tanintharyi Region
5	No. 9 Military Region	Kokang Region, Shan State
6	No. 815 Military Region/ Northwest Military Region	Yinmabin District, Sagaing Region; Myingyan District, Mandalay Region; and Pakokku District, Magway Region
7	No. 315 Military Region	Loikaw Township, Kayah State

Of these military regions, the No. 4 Military Region has been established but is not yet operational.

Contact Information

Email  – [email protected] 

Facebook  –   https://www.facebook.com/pla.cpb 

Note: This information is compiled in accordance with ISP-Myanmar’s security sector data collection system. It has been cross-checked with statements and information from other independent organizations. However, due to limitations in data availability, there may be slight discrepancies with the situation on the ground or new developments.