PARIS After months of wrangling, the showdown between Greece and its European creditors has come down to a standoff over pensions and taxes. Greece is refusing to acquiesce to demands by its creditors that it cut payments to the elderly and raise the value added tax on their medicine and electricity.

The recent Sino Japanese diplomatic spat over disputed islands in the East China Sea followed, almost instantly, by a Sino Vietnamese row over similar atolls has put the spotlight on China and its regional policy.