With China throwing its weight around the South China Sea, and snapping at Japan for its plans to buy disputed islands, the waters of the Pacific are looking a little choppy these days. Time for a little high-level diplomacy, you might think — something that not only eases tensions but also refocuses the nations of the Asia-Pacific on the enormous economic stakes they have in regional peace and stability.
If the administration of President Barack Obama is taking seriously this week’s meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation bloc, however, it has a funny way of showing it. Granted, President Obama has a good excuse for not attending the APEC leaders meeting in Vladivostok, Russia. But why did Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner not attend the earlier meeting of his fellow finance ministers in Moscow?
looking beyond borders 