So-called "˜People"s Defense Forces" are mushrooming throughout the country, some armed with hunting rifles and using their better knowledge of local territory to their advantage, as reported by The Irrawaddy on 5 July 2021. However, as Jamestown Foundation reported on 2 July 2021, the opposition in Myanmar remains divided, with many of the ethnic insurgency groups abstaining from joining the resistance. Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: "The uncoordinated People"s Defense Force groups do not really stand a chance against a battle-hardened government army which is used to dealing harshly with insurgents. But there are other reasons for deciding not to fight for the resistance: The army seems to be willing to cut deals with individual ethnic groups, now that it finds itself under pressure. And even more importantly, many ethnic insurgency groups and the army are motivated by financial profit, and there is too much money to be earned in producing and transporting synthetic drugs to let a civil war disturb such good business. The UNODC has estimated that such "˜business" in Myanmar raked in more than $100 billion in profits in 2020 through drug trafficking and associated crime, which is more than the GDP of Myanmar and Laos combined (Benar News, 6 July 2021). Because the center of this production and trade is to be found in Kachin and Shan states (which bother border with China), Christians there are caught in the middle. Whether the recent massing of Chinese troops at Myanmar"s border is connected to this is unclear. This military deployment could be the result of a combination of factors, including a growing fear of the possible spillover of war and refugee movements, combined with a fear of importing COVID-19 cases (East Asia Forum, 3 July 2021). Observers will keep their eye on this development."