Ever since I became the foreign minister in 1996, I’ve been convinced that the rise of China – while in many ways desirable – required a power balance in what we now call the Indo-Pacific region. Only then will that rise be peaceful and successful.

Let me explain what I mean. If China came to dominate the region and reduce other regional countries to nothing more than client states, that in time would create real tensions. These tensions could easily spill over into localised conflicts, or worse.