Anusar

“What China cannot ignore is how the narrative of the CCP as the champion and redeemer of a victimised China could dangerously narrow China’s options if an accident with the US or Japan should occur. War is not in China’s interest, and Beijing may for all the reasons I have earlier set out, want to contain the incident. But Beijing could be trapped by its own historical narrative, and the highly nationalistic public opinion that the CCP both cultivates and fears may force China down paths it does not really want to travel. I think Chinese leaders are aware of this danger but cannot abandon or tone down the narrative they have chosen to legitimate their right to rule because they have no convincing replacement.”
― Bilahari Kausikan, Dealing With An Ambiguos World

“there is a temptation to think that policy and capability only work in one direction: first, we set the policy, then we develop the capability to match the policy. But it is a perverse aspect of defence policy that, once a capability exists, it will to some degree determine policy.”
― Sam Roggeveen, The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace

“If it is costly to resist a change in the balance of power, and if the consequences of such a change are bearable, then it is likely such a change will happen. Such is the basic logic of my argument that America will decline as a great power in the Asia Pacific. When it comes to taking on China, the costs are too high and the stakes too low.”
― Sam Roggeveen, The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace

“America has all the ingredients for sustained economic and military strength over many generations. But a fight for leadership in Asia will require not only massive resources but also a measure of national will that is difficult to summon unless the stakes are existential. And the problem for those who want to see America take on this contest against China is that the United States is one of the most secure nations on earth, and therefore has no powerful motivation to do so.”
― Sam Roggeveen, The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace