"Burma?s President Thein Sein, while visiting Europe, announced that the government?s fighting against ethnic resistance forces has ended – even as the government moves more troops into the troubled areas. Meanwhile, the United States and China are scrambling for influence by brokering peace to end the ethnic conflicts. Dozens of think tanks and NGOs from the West are attracting donor funds and pouring into the country. ?The outcome has been overlapping initiatives, rivalry among organizations – and, more often than not, a lack of understanding by inexperienced ?peacemakers? of the conflicts? root causes,? explains journalist and author Bertil Lintner. China, unhappy with Burma?s embrace of the West, has been actively leading peace talks since January. Lintner points out that China?s Yunnan Province has more than 130,000 ethnic Kachin who sympathize with their fellow Burmese Kachin. Motivations may differ, but China and the US both want the conflicts to end. Burma?s leaders may find it difficult to pursue military solutions, continuing sending troops north, while playing China and the United States off each other..."