Can America match China’s long game in Asia?

It was less a case of traditional diplomacy than a piece of performance art. The aim was not to secure any immediate effect, but to send a message with far longer-term impact.

But it was China’s most significant retort to Washington’s moves last week to beef up its alliances in the Asia-Pacific region – themselves an answer to Beijing’s growing ambitions there. And as a signpost for how this tug of war is likely to play out, it was a good deal more instructive than