LOS ANGELES -- Before too long, Asia might get weary of being declared by self-appointed Occidental experts as the new center of the political universe. For one thing, the notion is hardly novel in Asia. But, then again, it might as well enjoy the limelight so long denied this most pivotal region on the face of the Earth.
The latest big-time encomium to the suddenly sighted rise of the East comes from none other than Henry Kissinger. In a recent column, the former U.S. secretary of state declaimed that the "center of gravity of international politics is shifting to Asia." This paean to the embarrassingly obvious comes in the wake of another political papal bull from another high policy cardinal in the inner church of American foreign policy.
Writing in Foreign Affairs, James F. Hoge Jr. opines in the lead article, "A Global Power Shift in the Making": "The transfer of power from West to East is gathering pace and soon will dramatically change the context for dealing with international challenges -- as well as the challenges themselves." Later the article notes: "Asia's rise is just beginning . . ."