The realpolitik of the China Sea disputes

The China Sea issue pitting this country against China has to be appreciated within a wider context – the super power tussle over energy. We see two elephants fighting over turf with the grass below in danger of being trampled. We are that patch of green that could be stepped on when the pushing comes to a shoving match.

It is pathetic that we misread the signals. Firstly, China and the US are not going to fight. They are like horse and carriage linked tightly by shared economic interests. Their economies complement each other. China provides a humungous market for US investments and products and chief creditor to the once almighty economy in the West. It is not true what Rudyard Kipling says about ease is east and west is west and the twain shall never meet. In a shrinking and globalizing world connected by the communications revolution all markets—be this commodities or financial are all next door. In this environment China and the US are trying their best to be good neighbors, adopting an open door policy economically speaking.