SINGAPORE — The world has recently witnessed two major diplomatic blinks. Japan, facing mounting pressure from China, unconditionally released a Chinese trawler captain whose ship had rammed a Japanese Coast Guard patrol boat. And U.S. President Barack Obama did nothing when Israel refused to extend its freeze on new building construction in the West Bank, causing Israeli West Bank settlers to rejoice.
In the short run, it is clear who lost. In the long run, however, the outcome of backing down may not be so clear. China, in particular, should weigh carefully the long-term political price of celebrating its supposed victory over Japan.
According to Newton's third law of motion, "for every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction." Geopolitics has a similar law: Whenever the world sees a new emerging power, the world's greatest existing power tries, directly or indirectly, to block its rise. Today, the world's greatest power is the United States, and the greatest emerging power is China. So far, surprisingly, the U.S. has not forged a strategy to thwart China's rise.