" US officials have started urging erstwhile allies in the region, like Australia and Indonesia, to beef up their military capacity so they can stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with the US against China."

The way things are at the moment and the total dcependence that Australia has on the industrial growth of China, it is probably about the right time to keep at arms length from the US and their continued need for military hegemony based on current miltary strength (advantage over China) and not the value of a US dollar or moral values.

The British empire found out, to their credit, that the empire was worth sacrificing for the long term benefits of democracy.

Probably one of their better decisions

All the "British Empire" countries were very pleased indeed, with some like Australia, still hanging on the skirts of the mother country but displaying a sycophantic and second class relationship with the US as it continues to use the weak political environment here aa fertile breeding ground for military expansion.

Don't be tempted, Gillard, while you're still there.

Based on the recent riots in London and the expanding disparity between the have and the have-nots however, the British seem to need some shoring up of the feelings that made them the biggest empire builder, ever.

But the British level of arrogance then pales into significance when compared to the US, and their ability to continually produce a level of political class that is corrupt, rightwing, arrogant and subservient to the hateful policies of states like Israel. While ever that corruption exists in the US, so the mistakes that they have been famous for for 50 years such as the recent Israeli-inspired wars such as Iraq and Afghanistan will continue until China, sitting in the wings and biding its time and building assets and good local relations and friends as well, decides to challenge the US, by this time just an emnpty shell, financially bankrupt, over something like yet another US encroachment by way of a military daliance inspired by the CIA.

It will happen.

That's where the danger lies.

Well the US and NATO backed by the Global Reserve Banksters are pushing for war.Like always these banksters create money from nothing and finance both sides of a war.China is thorn in their side because it has many Govt Banks keeping their people free from our crushing debt.When will we wake up!