Yes, I agree. America's weakness in foreign policy has always been its failure to understand or be informed sufficiently about the countries and disparate cultures with which it deals. This failure is increasingly seen as arrogance as a global community struggles to emerge.

Australia's record of Bush/Howard alliances has not been to its advantage. With a new Government in place now is the time for Australia to communicate with Asia on terms that make it apparent she is not a satellite of the USA. It is to be hoped that more understanding of uniquely Asian viewpoints and protocols, as befits a near neighbour, will be seen as necessary to Australian interests.

I have a feeling that the nuances of Japanese/Chinese relations are imperfectly understood by the general population outside of Asia. It is to be hoped that Government understands more fully the delicate balance that is necessary as a result of this historical rivalry which pre-dates the Communist era and has persisted through opening and expansion.

I suspect the author (Executive Member of Chinese Culture Monthly, etc) is saying Australia should be more accommodating to China.

Australia is friendly in trade with China but keeps its powder dry in its defence approach. This is already a set of nuanced foreign policy approaches and Australia has maintained them for some years.

It must be kept in mind that China maintains its aim of absorbing Taiwan and has specifically configured its military forces in southern China to do this. An armed takeover would be highly destabilising.

The author's depiction of a "bi-polar Asia" of Chinese and Indian blocs is overly simplistic because it ignores India. India is a rising economic and military power - increasingly in competition with China. Unlike Japan India maintains an increasing number of nuclear armed ballistic missiles aimed at Chinese cities and military targets and visa versa.

Pete
http://spyingbadthings.blogspot.com/2007/04/india-stealing-missile-secrets-part-of.html

Forget the nuances. With China and Japan, Australia in the future needs to maintain worldwide economic and cultural relationships that take into account the great weaknesses of both.

Both are net importers of food. ie their agriculture and fishing industries cannot sustain their current populations. Add to that the crisis in water supply across northern China and the increasing water demands from industry in that region ... well security concerns are increasingly going to be a crucial point for Australia.

In future environmental concerns, not economic nor cultural, will become paramount and the cause of regional instability.

Good question! But I would like you to think about this. We have given them the technology and they are slapping us with it,in our faces. REMEMBER THIS! THE UNDER DOG WILL ALWAYS FIGHT BACK! Being kind is a human thing, but no-one likes to be in second place.
Has no-one learned anything from the wars of history. I see white man becoming extinct! AND BELEVE IT OR NOT, OUR KINDNESS WILL BE OUR DOWN FALL. Just remember we are dealing with second and third world people.
They have different ways of thinking.

The chinese and japanese are not third world people. China has nearly 8000 years worth of military strategy experience. Its very arrogant for any "westernized" nation to believe they are superior to the chinese.

But I agree, the dynamics between the two countries are very interesting. China this week released the names of 13,000 citizens massacred by the Japanese in 1937. I sort of wondered at the time why they did this (apart from the obvious 70 year anniversary). I feel it points to the way China views history as a pathway for future development. And woe betide any other country that has crossed her in the past.

Yeah! Not any more their not.