China calls Australia "DOG of the US", page-93

I agree. I just think you can have a position, as you do, that focuses on the issue not on supposed failings of anyone who disagrees. What appears self evident to some is clearly not to others in terms of reasoning. There are times I ask myself whether something else is going on behind the scenes to which we are not privy since it looks like a pretty awful mess to me and so off beam as a way of handling China that its hard to believe you'd be silly enough to do it if there was not another game plan.

When I was dong negotiations regularly we used to talk about a story of an employer that really screwed over their workers, They won but the victory was short lived. In time they were completely done over themselves and never really recovered. The rule was always that of you made people lose face or lose too much of what they wanted in time they would seek revenge, and that positional bargaining stopped you find good solutions as well as forcing the other party to hold on to their position. . There are famous examples in diplomacy as well of reframing things so you tread that delicate path between self interest and the interests of others. The only people that head butt are people who don't understand subtlety, strategy and soft power. the other thing they often don't know is who they can enroll in their cause and how to do it - to get what they want through others. Trump knows how to do that and so that well - but only with some people If you are going to take that line you need to control your bully tendencies.