Originally Posted by
susanlikescats
Archimedes, if you're meaning the sort of 'tone' displayed by the British when they last had a significant presence here - I'm thinking Singapore '42 - then I suspect the 'tone' you'll hear from the Chinese side is one of laughter.
No, I'm making a reference to an 1895 Punch cartoon (which is reasonably well-known in British military circles, but admittedly not exactly the most famous one ever printed) using it to make a sideways comment about the doubtful utility of our presence in a future war against China. The clue being in the footnote acknowledging an 1895 cartoon, so as to ensure that no-one could possibly believe that I was making a serious point rather than a sarcastic one. Or so I thought...
500N - to add to PN's point, if you look at the US 'Open Door' policy toward China, and the way in which the communist victory in the revolution was portrayed - 'the loss of China', then you can see just how important the area has been to the US.