It may also have taught the Bush administration a practical lesson that it could not have learned in any other way. The lesson for both Washington and Beijing is one and the same. For all its military power, the United States does not have the ability to conduct its international activities unconstrained by other nations and other considerations. When it came to the crunch over the spy plane, Washington had relatively few cards in its hand. But any satisfaction which some may feel at this proof of the limits of American power needs to be set against the dangers.
Chinese power is a very threatening force too, both internally and internationally.
The confrontation in east Asia is not over.