Overheard in China: "What the fuck?"

So our leading intelligence agencies hold a similar view to your scribe; China poses no significant threat. So a few of the more hawkish military war porn types can't get their head around the idea. So Rudd, master of the Sinophile universe in his own mind, is sending out an explicit message that we view them as a threat?

Yes China are building their own capacity up, but surely even the more conservative realist observer can see that's a response to perceived competition, and potential security dilemmas, with the US, Taiwan, Japan and to a lesser extent India?

Of course Japan applauds Rudd's move- but Japan and China have a relationship that is testy for a number of reasons, including the failure to properly apologise and account for their imperial phase, the honouring of war criminals, and simply the fact that, aside from the lack of nuclear weapons, Japan is one of the most powerful military nations in the world.

And the message to Indonesia is...? What about the impoverished nations of the arc we accuse of instability? Is a big imperial-style navy a better way to bring security to our region than, say, helping them build schools, bridges and hospitals?

Whose security? Not mine, not yours.