Principal response: cutting off the nose to spite the face, some would say. https://twitter.com/palkisu/status/1262614056654868482

If this is too cryptic:
1. Not joining RCEP has annoyed ASEAN but more importantly Australia & Japan
2. Taking a vocal stance (once) on BRI w/o offering any credible alternatives because they cost money. Don't @ me w/random acronyms.

3. Hyping up rel with US w/o addressing core problematic issues focuses Beijing's -ve attention on us but w/o gains. If & when the balloon goes up, unsure who'd come to our aid (fmr navy chief Lanba said this, not me) bc' said issues. This is being in a strat halfway house.

4. Most fundamentally, a "grand strategy" (if one can call it that) that's long on rhetoric and short on delivery, incongruent to our extant power. That can be emotionally fulfilling, but runs the risk of drawing more attention to ourselves than desirable. <end>