Opinion | China announces arrival as superpower

Superpowers are not like other countries. For starters, their sheer size and clout grants them the prerogative of "do as I say, not as I do" diplomacy. Smaller nations may burn with frustration when they encounter the contradictions, but quickly find themselves crumbling in the face of raw power.

China is often described as a budding, emerging or potential superpower but, as it starts to exercise its heft, it is clear it has graduated beyond such qualifiers. It is showing itself quite capable of bludgeoning diplomatic rivals with its own version of "do as I say, not as I do".

The fresh tensions over the Diaoyu Islands are one example. It is hard to imagine Beijing tolerating in neighbouring countries the kind of sustained anti-Japanese protests witnessed last week across dozens of mainland cities. Far smaller demonstrations in the Philippines and Vietnam over disputes with China in the South China Sea have been met with considerable diplomatic wrath from Beijing.

Then, of course, there have been the controversial responses to claimed "provocations" from both Manila and Hanoi over the dispute. The creation of a civilian presence and a possible divisional-strength military garrison across what has been formalised as Sansha city has delivered the bluntest of messages. You mess with Beijing at your peril.

This brings us back to the Diaoyus, known as the Senkakus in Japanese. Japan has long insisted, as occupiers and administrators, that there is nothing to discuss; the islands are not in dispute. It is a mirror of China's position in the Paracels - now headquarters of Sansha - which are also claimed by Vietnam.

For how long will Tokyo be able to sustain this position? The whole region is watching.