48% of Australian's view United States President George W Bush negatively. I doubt Putin is even on their radar.

Regrettably suave comrade Putin (eg KGB and karate specialist) will quietly have Bush "Chimpy" Jr (still tired and tipsy) for lunch.

An excellent analysis. I have a question and some doubts though. Which are the four Central Asian Republics included in Putin's Shanghai Cooporation Organisation. Particularly, does it include Kazahistan? I ask because the US has considerable influence, investment and military bases in Kazakistan. And Kazakistan is the most energy resource rich of all the Central Asian Republics.

An oganisation including Pakistan, India and China seems a little fanciful.

I understand China sources much of it's energy from Siberia so a compact between traditional enemies there is quite possible but a compact between India and China or India and Pakistan remotely possible...impossible is more likely no matter what Putin's resolve.

This is an area of foreign affairs that we as Australians should be discussing. As you suggest it could have massive impact on our region and our alliances within it.

We should be talking with our politicians to discover their policy in relation to these regions. I must admit while I have had a little interest in Central Asian affairs I have never considered it's role in the context of a re-emergent Russia and strenghthening China.

The 4 Central Asian members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Voice of America reported on 16 August after the Summit of the 6 leaders in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan that the presidents of oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin and Nursultan Nazarbayev, called for expanded energy ties among member states. Nazarbayev said the pipeline network that connects Russia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia and China can serve as the basis for a common SCO energy market.

I suspect that Chinese tact is more important than Putin's resolve in shaping SCO's future, but I am sure that for the foreseeable future Putin will do all he can to support the effectiveness of that tact. It has been Putin's support of a Chinese initiative that has brought things this far.

An excellent article which gave me new insights.The US in the future cannot afford to put an intellectually challenged president in power.No matter how good the grooming or advice is,it is not a good look nor can effective bargaining be done in meetings like APEC.

Russia has vast quantities of oil and gas.Cheap energy is underpins prosperity and the US without the Middle East virtually has none.China is saving it's coal reserves and buying our coal and gas.Are we being smart in flogging off our energy so cheaply to maintain our present living standards?

Russia still remains second in global nuclear weapons and their old totalitarian ways have not given way to true democracy.India is closer to us than China or Russia as far as democracy goes and we have to be careful not to let short term economic greed take presidence over long term political stability.

"This environment will pose unfamiliar challenges for the APEC host nation, Australia. With the end of the Soviet Union, it has been inclined to see Russia as a distant nation, with limited relevance to Australia, requiring only basic diplomatic attention."

Australia, as both an opportunistic U.S. ally and China's quarry, has become inclined to see not only Russia, but most of the world as distant and requiring only basic diplomatic attention.

A century ago Australia looked soley to London, now we look to Washington and Beijing. Nevertheless, we remain a peripheral country with an overly narrow foreign policy focus.