With the official adoption of ethnic cleansing in relation to the Rohingya’s exodus, including the blaming of Tillerson saying: “Those responsible for these atrocities must be held accountable,” and endorsing independent investigation to further determine all facts on the ground, the US is now geared to go for the next step of individual and targeted sanctions.

No doubt. China would readily fill in what the West would likely deny the Tatmadaw and thus, the effort to come out of the Chinese orbit would become impossible to harder for Burma.

One would say the Tatmadaw’s gamble to have its own way, thinking that the cost to pay for such crackdown will be minimum as usual, in relation to the Rakhine conflict or Rohingya problematic, backfired as it has to pay a very high price.

If measured response, in place of disproportionate retaliation of collective punishment have been used the world would still be in order for the Tatmadaw; and for that reason also the government. But the miscalculation has changed all what the Tatmadaw has fought for and it must try really hard to undo the damage that been done, which is its sole responsibility.

Link to the story:  US calls Rakhine security operation ‘ethnic cleansing’