Union Pacific?
Both Australia and Japan have offered strong ideas on a reorganized international power bloc to shore up the aging ASEAN.
The two ideas are not compatible, strictly speaking.
Australia wants more US involvement, and Japan wants less. None of this is surprising, and the Czar will tell you why.
Japan wants less US involvement because (a) pushing back against the US is a cotterpin of the new ultra-liberal Japanese government, so any opportunity to push Americans eastward is a good one to them, and (b) the Japanese no longer recognize America as a serious world player thanks to our current administration; instead, they are turning more to China. Indeed, the Japanese proposal gives a little more latitude to China.
China has recognized that Japan is better off a conservative, capitalist nation.Australia, who is one of America’s last reliable friends in the world, sees it differently. They see that America will come roaring back the moment “the professor” is out of the White House, and that American involvement means less power for China. Additionally, Australia suspects China’s motives may include ulterior ones.
Japan also prefers a European Union-style organization between them, Australia, China, South Korea, India, and New Zealand; China and India, not surprisingly, are not warm to this idea. No surprise: if the fickle Japanese economy bellyaches, their economies suffer…particularly when the current Japanese economy is led by people who detest capitalism. Japan has still yet to recognize that her recently elected government is not the better leadership. Ironically, China has recognized that Japan is better off a conservative, capitalist nation!
Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.