Just a few years ago in 2010, the careful non-aggressive, non-coercive diplomacy that China had been conducting for many years was brutally repudiated by China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi when he told the ASEAN conference meeting in Hanoi that the world better get used to the concept that there are “big countries” and “small countries.” The implication was clear. China was big and the rest of them were small.

His quote sounded reminiscent of the infamous quote from Thucydides when quoting the ancient Athenians who said, the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.

Are we again going to make the mistake of not listening to, or believing, what people say. We should not forget that Adolph Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” told the world in the 1920’s what he planned to do if he were to gain power.

It is imperative that we listen carefully to what China’s representatives are saying and deconstruct the truth from the lies. We need to discern China’s real aims. In that regard, when their Foreign Minister states that the world better get used to the concept that there are big countries and small countries we should accept that this is how China really views the world and understand the unspoken threat included in that statement.