NASA Administrator Charles Bolden visited Beijing on October 16 – 21 to discuss cooperation in manned space flight. While one swallow does not make a summer, it may signal that the US may be considering greater engagement with China in outer space, particularly manned flight.

Sino-US rivalry has been simmering for the past many years, as China has replaced Russia in the American scheme of things as its most potent adversary.

Even though the report is fairly cautious in what it says and does not highlight anything new, the reactions on the Chinese side have not been that positive.

India has to calibrate its relationship with China, the US, and countries of East Asia with great circumspection in the wake of the resurfacing of tensions in the South China Sea.

The UNSC statement is more a testimony to Sino-US compromise arrived at after nearly a month and half of negotiations rather than being a “diplomatic victory” as has been hailed by North Korea.

Contradictions in India-China relations provide the rationale for greater engagement exactly like it has done in the case of US-China relations.

China’s missile defence test could possibly up the ante in the region, with other regional powers considering measures in reaction.

By giving away Asia to China on a platter, the Obama Administration’s posture undermines its traditional allies (Japan, South Korea, and Australia) as well as its new partners like India.