Roads - Arteries of Empire

America's foreign policy has been a classic example of the repercussions of biting off more than you can chew.

George Bush has the US military tied down in Iraq while a growing majority of Americans turn solidly against this venture. It's "all Iraq, all the time" for the White House. This fiasco has left the US flat-footed elsewhere, something that hasn't gone unnoticed or unexploited by many nations including America's emerging rival, China.

China is beginning to supplant the United States in regions it has been neglecting including Asia, Africa, even some parts of South America. America's dependence on cheap, Chinese goods has left that country awash in greenbacks that are now being put to use to cement China's influence abroad.

In poor Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Chinese aid is constructing bridges and roads that will not only assist the recipients but will also facilitate the supply of natural resources to China and delivery of Chinese products to these regions. Call it economic colonialism if you like but that's hardly a new reality in Southeast Asia.

Chinese aid comes without the judgments and conditions usually attached to Western foreign aid or World Bank loans. This has been especially welcome in Africa where it buys oil and gas. China has shown few, if any qualms at dealing with repressive states such as Nigeria, Sudan and Angola.

Even traditional US client states such as the Philippines find Chinese aid very much to their liking. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have offered $200-million in loans but China stepped in to allow the Phillipines loans of $2-billion a year for three years. This gambit ruffled some feathers in Tokyo and Washington because they are key players in the Asian Development Bank which happens to be headquartered in Manilla. Oh dear.

As China extends its global reach, a quiet arms race is underway in Asia. The US has entered a military pact with India which itself is going full bore to expand its already formidable navy and air force. The US is also pursuing a joint, missile defence programme with Japan - ostensibly designed to protect against a North Korean attack.

Ever since Mao transformed China into a unified, communist state, the country has been known for its enormous army of infantry with rudimentary training and weaponry. That no longer suits the Chinese leadership's vision of the country's military needs. Infantry divisions are being cut back as China instead works to expand its air and sea power as well as pursuing a space initiative. Today, China's military stands at 2.3 million - still the largest in the world - but down a full 1.7 million since its peak in 1985.

Washington keeps casting anxious glances over its shoulder at China's growing military power and international influence but there's really not much the administration can do to counter it while its hands are full of the immediate political and security problems it has created for itself in Iraq. By the time that is over, China may well be the world's major, de facto empire.