The top levels of government, academia and business in Australia have been possessed for years by talk about how China is upending the geo-strategic order that has anchored the region since the end of the 1941-45 Pacific War.
But on the campaign trail ahead of a national election of May 18, the prospect of a new regional order headed by an authoritarian state ruthless about enforcing its interests has scarcely raised its head. Instead of intense debate, there has been an almost deathly silence.
