WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Australian Defense Minister Reinforces U.S. Alliance.

The rapid changes underway in Asia present the U.S. with a far more complex geostrategic challenge than that posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. America’s new Asia policy will require the deployment of the full arsenal of American power—not just economic and strategic but cultural and diplomatic as well.

To this end, the U.S. needs to pay more attention to the internal debates in countries throughout Asia-Pacific. In Australia, for instance, while support for America at both the political and the individual level remains steadfast, there are rumblings within certain sections of the foreign policy community that a rising China should force Canberra to re-evaluate its strategic priorities.

Which is why Washington should take heart from recent comments made by Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith.

All this means is that we haven’t blown it . . . yet.