Ever since China's great reformer, Deng Xiaoping, instructed Chinese leaders to 'Hide Brightness, nourish obscurity,' the region has been playing a guessing game trying to decipher Beijing's longer term intentions. It was recently Australia's turn with the release of the defense white paper. It is one thing to hedge bets — probably wise since the future is unknown — but it is another thing to include every possibility, which means avoiding taking a stab at all. The white paper does at least refocus Australian strategic attention on Asia. But deciphering the mystery of China would have been easier if only Australian strategists spent more time going to the source.
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