Myanmar has a large number of armed groups, which fight with each other as well as with the central Myanmar government. Inevitably, what begins are ethnic liberalisation movements, turn into organised crime, the spillover effect of which eventually had China conduct this 'soft intervention'.<p>There are some parallels with US vs Mexico cartels scenario, though in this case the armed groups under attack and now arrest by PRC are ethnic Han Chinese citizens of Myanmar (as if Sinoloa was made up with ethnic Texans)