Although I don't think anybody in Asia would really lift a finger to hurt Burma, I doubt anyone except China would life a finger to help them. Although the China factor is large, the other Asian nations are unlikely to do anything to exacerbate it. And the Chinese won't move, because there's nothing in it for them.

Militarily, an invasion of Burma is probably not as hard as it sounds. One of the superpowers alone could do it without too much trouble, partially because the most strategic piece of land in the whole country is no longer the center of the junta's power. The hard part is, of course, figuring out what to do once the Burmese Army has fled in disarray. The mess would be a disaster. Even with an obvious candidate for leader, it would be hard just to install a government.

If enough people are disaffected, or if the government performs badly enough in this current affair, it may lose all legitimacy, and be unable to control people breaking away. This throws things into a whole new ballgame, a cross between a bloody rebellion and a disintegrating country. I'm tempted to like that one, except that I'm not sure if we will be able to find a party we are morally allied with to support. It's also one of the few things that will move China off of it's fence, and I don't know which way they'll jump once they do. It's an interesting exercise though - in a Burmese civil war, do we abstain and observe complete neutrality, or do we sell to whoever we want?

I agree with you though. Chances are Burma will remain the backwater it is for a long time.