The Americans recently signed a document, at an Org. of Amer. States meeting I believe, calling for negotiations between Great Britain and Argentina about the status of the Malvinas. They used Malvinas instead of Falklands in the document. That may be a small thing but it may be indicative of attitudes.

This has not pleased some of the British. Adm. Woodard commented in an article that if he were PM he would have been on the next plane to DC to ask "Hang on a minute; we’re your closest ally – what the hell’s going on?"

The link to his article is here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/ar...#ixzz1PG3LEynB

This happening may be germane to this discussion. Its import is that this is the British we are talking about. It is not about geo positions, oil, international amity, legal arguments about ownership history and sovereignty, it is about who these guys are. These are the British. We've been battling opponents side by side with them since 1917. You'd think we would be willing to say Falklands instead of Malvinas or at least "the islands in question located at lat x long.

Now I believe this is the kind of things all those countries in China's path may notice. It is one of those little things that you do in order show determination. But we didn't do it.