The Chinese premier and US secretary of state traded verbal blows over the South China Sea at yesterday’s East Asia Summit.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/10/11/asea-o11.html)

Obama's "pivot to Asia" is becoming more and more desperate and hollow. It has become more like a distraction of some pitiful sort. I read an article on Voltaire Network (I think) that said in essence that the US was becoming a toothless lion - no one was afraid of the US anymore. I don't know that it has gotten to that point, yet (and that might be the point where the US is most dangerous), but there is a definite sense of "flailing" in the air...