A couple of years ago in Shanghai, an eminent Chinese scholar and my luncheon host, commented: "I just don't know why you Americans want a position in Asia." China would like America to get out of Asia so that it could rebuild a modern version of its pre-1895 tributary system where China ruled the roost in Asia. And as they see it, America is in the way. My host didn't want to concede that other countries wanted a US presence in Asia. Today, China is even more troubled by America's rebalancing or pivot to Asia. Yet, like my host, it doesn't seem to realize that China's growing military assertiveness and political swagger is driving smaller powers into the arms of the US.
Sincerely,
William E. Sharp,
Jr.
Author of
RANDOM VIEWS OF ASIA FROM THE MID-PACIFIC (Savant 2011)
Former host,
Asia in Review
Former columnist, "Look East,"
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Contact me at we.sharp@gmail.com