When it comes to "hard power," the West is in steep decline..."Europe has become so enamored with soft power that it has stopped investing in hard power. In terms of hard security, it makes Europe a free rider." Strong words from someone who has been deeply committed to keeping transatlantic ties strong.

The result, as one Japanese analyst put it, was that “China scored an own goal,” immediately reversing what had been a favourable trend in bilateral relations under the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. More generally, while China spends billions of yuan in efforts to increase its soft power in Asia, its behaviour in the South China Sea contradicts its own message

Even as Defence Minister Liang Guanglie is in India on a five-day visit this week to boost ties, the departure of another top People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General to Southeast Asia has been seen by analysts here as reflecting a new diplomatic push by the Chinese military to address regional concerns.

China and the United States are dialing down their rhetorical broadsides over greater U.S. military and economic influence in Asia ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Beijing Tuesday...Cui said China is ready to work with other countries, but “it will not mean that China will have to change its foreign aid policy.”

A consequence of China’s rise as a global economic superpower has been the nation’s quest for resources, influence and riches in Africa, extracting minerals and food, building highways and schools, and selling cheap cellphones and pharmaceuticals. In July, President Hu Jintao pledged that China would lend $20 billion to African governments for agriculture and infrastructure.

Recent conflicts in North Africa have demonstrated Europe's capacity and willingness to project military power, and these build on a growing European tendency toward consolidation of hard power. The UK and France have put aside historical enmities to develop an ever-closer defense relationship, and over time this tendency will only increase.

Secretary of Defense Bob Gates was a tireless advocate for better cooperation between our development, diplomatic and defense operations. This recognition really began to take shape in the Bush administration in the aftermath of 9/11, where the President recognized that...we need all of our foreign policy tools working together in what is known as the smart power approach.

Although coined by Joseph Nye, the practice of soft-power diplomacy is of course nothing new...However, it has never before served as the central tenant of American foreign policy strategy because previous administrations always recognized that soft-power diplomacy does not work in the absence of hard-power leverage.