Local administrators are facing mounting pressure from township authorities aligned with the military junta as they struggle to meet conscription quotas for each village, sources close to the administrative network report.
Under the junta’s directives, each township in Mon State is expected to supply between 10 to 20 new military conscripts per training cycle. However, since Conscription Batch 13, the number of recruits has dropped below 10 in many areas due to growing difficulties in sourcing replacements, according to those familiar with the matter.
“Every week, there’s a meeting with administrators. Villages that haven’t sent their required number of conscripts are being warned. They’re told to meet the quota in time. The pressure is real, Each village has to send at least two, up to eight. It’s done on a rotating basis. Our village has only managed to send two so far,” said a person close to a village administrator in Paung Township.
With most new conscripts coming from poor and working-class families, communities are increasingly resorting to paid substitutions, where migrant workers or outsiders are recruited in place of locals. The going rate for a substitute conscript is reportedly around 40 lakh kyats, locals say.
“Finding substitutes is difficult now. So they go to other villages and pay about 4 million kyats to hire someone. On top of that, we still have to pay monthly support fees for the conscripts,” a resident from Thanbyuzayat told IMNA.
Despite many village administrators being unable to meet conscription targets, they continue to collect monthly payments from residents to fund the conscription process, including fees for transportation, food, and substitute recruitment.
As the junta prepares for Conscription Batch 15, local authorities across Mon State are actively seeking new recruits and planning ahead to meet the military’s weekly training requirement, which is set at approximately 5,000 trainees per batch. To meet these numbers, junta-aligned troops and administrative officials are forcibly detaining young people across townships.
The junta’s controversial conscription law, which makes military service mandatory, has triggered a sharp increase in migration as young people flee abroad to avoid enlistment. In response, the junta has tightened border controls and implemented a range of restrictions to prevent further escape.
