ASIA and the rest of the world line up on the roadside to watch how a new China without Jiang Zemin and with a more powerful Hu Jintao would conduct itself internally and on the global stage.Over the weekend, Jiang gave up his chairmanship of the powerful Central Military Commission that overseas the mighty Chinese armed forces in favor of President Hu, who now controls the governing party, state and the army.The Taiwan government has expressed guarded optimism over the full ascendancy of Hu and the exit of former President Jiang from the political scene.In Hong Kong political analysts have aired hopes that Hu’s stronger grip on government would bring a more liberal attitude toward the former British colony.Japan has not reacted to developments in Beijing. For the moment, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is busy in New York City promoting Tokyo’s membership in the United Nation Security Council.We have not heard any statement from the US that respects the one-China policy but has, at the same time, warned that an attack by China on Taiwan would invite American intervention.No statement either from President Arroyo or Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, who is attending the UN General Assembly meeting in Manhattan. President Arroyo, who visited Beijing recently, has established closer rapport with Hu and must surely welcome her partner’s consolidation of power.The ownership dispute over the Spratly Islands involves seven Asian countries, including China and the Philippines. The status quo is expected to prevail even as some nations have questioned a joint Beijing-Manila agreement to determine the presence of oil, gas and other mineral deposits in the disputed island-chain.The West and financial capitals will be watching economic reforms under President Hu. There is grave concern over China’s heated economy and its position on the devaluation of the yuan.Now that Jiang’s influence has been reduced, Hu can concentrate on ensuring that soft landing is achieved. At the same time, political reforms that are consistent with China’s position in the region are necessary.Hu’s accumulation of power eases worries in and outside China that the quiet struggle for power between him and Jiang puts a break on Beijing’s march toward a more vigorous economy and improved relations with Asian countries.Compared with his predecessor, Hu is perceived as more pragmatic and less of a hard-liner. All world leaders, including the next US president, will begin to look at China in a different light.But make no mistake about democracy rising in Hu’s China. The Middle Kingdom will remain a one-party system with less patience for political dissent. Even as he emerges stronger after the latest plenum, Hu stays captive of a consensus collective governing elite that will protect the Communist system to the end.A dangerous planThe Philippine government should condemn Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s plan to order preemptive strikes overseas to protect his country. Among Howard’s potential targets are the Philippines and Indonesia, which he described as “high-priority countries.”“We will not wait for a terrorist threat to eventuate before we take action,” he said in an official announcement on Monday.A unilateral attack on a country is an unfriendly act and goes against the charter of the United Nations.Already, Australia is building up its capacity to wage preemptive attacks. It is buying cruise missiles from the United States. Howard has pledged nearly A$100 million to form several counterterror teams equipped with the latest technology to attack terrorist enclaves.Indonesia has already questioned Australia’s purchase, pointing out that the missiles give Australia an unfair military advantage, the capability to hit any country it wants in the region without risking the lives of Australian soldiers.Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak rejected the idea that Australia could stage preemptive strikes or base counterterror teams on Malaysian soil, asserting that it would not allow its national sovereignty to be violated. “Malaysia’s position is that [Australia has] to respect our sovereignty,” Najib said. “We won’t allow any preemptive strikes when it comes to our own national territory.”Hurting from the backlash resulting from Howard’s irresponsible statement, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer spoke on radio Tuesday, saying his government has no intention to launch such attacks on Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia or Singapore. The attacks, he added, would only be targeted on “failed states” that were unable to police themselves.It is good that the Australian government realized that Howard’s posturing is alienating allies in the region.If Australia had followed through with Howard’s threat, the region would have been brought back to the bad old days of gunboat diplomacy at the turn of the 20th century.Australian analysts say Howard uttered the statement to bolster his bid to be reelected. Howard should learn from this mistake and realize that his country is not the region’s policeman.The Australian opposition leader Mark Latham was right in calling Howard’s plan “clumsy foreign policy.”“Imagine if a country in our region said it was prepared to launch unilateral strikes on targets in Australia, our sovereign territory, without the cooperation and involvement of the Australian government,” he said. “Imagine the outrage in this country. As Australians we would feel absolutely appalled.”A better option is to form a multinational force to fight terrorism. Steps have been taken in this direction and it would be foolish for Australia to ignore it.Howard should be reminded that Australia is not the only country fighting terrorism. The Philippines has done so for years, alone or in partnership with a broad-based coalition, always within the framework of the United Nations.