Two stories about China seem to be interesting today.
First, China has said that with regards to the dispute in the South China Sea that it will gladly work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations but warned Washington to stay out of the matter in a veiled manner (see here).
The times had an interesting piece about how Australians are divided as to whether China (and the increase of trade with China) is a more important ally than the United states (43% – 43% with some undecideds). At the same time that trade has been booming with China, some Australians are concerned about China’s presence in the region and what that could spell for them. (See the Times piece here).
I am not sure quite yet what this means. I can say that with Russia being aggressive, China being dismissive, Australians wondering if China is a better ally then the US, I wonder to what extent the US has a good relationship in the East? Perhaps after 15 years of war in the middle east and using the stick to get what we want (and failing at that as well) the world is wary of what the US might do after November comes and goes.
