It is rare in diplomatic circles for governments to speak bluntly, particularly in the Orient, where manners are highly prized. The exceptions to this rule are retired military officers, who are often able to voice sentiments too impolitic for other channels. One of the more startling pronouncements in this vein occurred last week when Song Xiaojun, a former senior officer of the People's Liberation Army, warned that Australia cannot juggle its relationships with the United States and China indefinitely and "Australia has to find a godfather sooner or later. Australia always has to depend on somebody else, whether it is...