Flickers?

Burma (Myanmar) has been a pretty loyal Chinese ally, with an oppressive government to match, for decades now. Could we really hope to pry Burma from China's grip?

No longer Southeast Asia's pariah state, Myanmar won a powerful endorsement on Friday when Obama announced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would visit the resource-rich country neighboring China, the highest-ranking American to do so since a 1962 military coup. Obama cited "flickers of progress."

Denying China this ally would hinder Chinese efforts to project power into the Indian Ocean.