Not Is All Smiles Among Nations That Attended Conference In Vietnam

A recent Pew Global Attitudes Survey has well proved that not all is really smiles among many of the nations that attended the Asian summit in Vietnam this weekend. While 95% of Chinese feel that both their economic and military buildups are a positive thing, half of those in India don't feel that the economic boom in China is a positive thing, and three out of five are fearful of the military buildup. Back in 1962, India and China were involved in a border war, and bad feelings still run deep.

Even worse are the relations between China and Japan. While 8 out of ten in China feel that the Japanse apology for WWII has not been adequate, current conservative JapanesePrime Minister Shinzo Abe endorses a revisionist view of Japanese WWII history that supports Japanese student pride in their nation, ignoring the horrible war crimes such as the Rape Of Nanking that continues to create conflict between China and Japan.

India and Pakistan continue to hold unfavorable views of each other as a whole. And among Russians, China is still viewed somewhat unfavorably due to some border tensions along the Amur River during the Cold War era.

The conference in Vietnam, including what looked like an "all smiles" class picture was little more than a posed event for the cameras, masking some deep divisions in Asia.