"Our economic future lies with

south-east Asia" - or so the Prime Minister would have us believe.

Successive governments have been trying to tell us this since 1973 - the year Downunder's then Prime Minister made a trip to China. They are still trying to tell us our future is in Asia.

Yes, Asia is important to us. It is very important to us. We need to have good trading relations with Asia and we can do a lot of business with them.

But...the world does not end in south-east Asia or even Asia itself. While we have been focussing on building up trade with these regions they are moving on. They are building up trade ties with the Americas, with the middle-East, with Africa and with all of Europe. We are being left behind. The markets we might have entered are all but closed to us. 

We have been telling students they must learn Chinese and Japanese or, less often, offering them Vietnamese and Malay-Indonesian or (even more rarely Thai). French and German are still taught but the "smart" student does an Asian language - and generally does it very badly.  

People in business are told to focus on Asian markets, even when their products might be better suited to other places.  There is government support for this because it is government policy. 

In all this we forget that we are not seen as an Asian nation. We just happen to be geographically located adjacent to a large and diverse Asian nation. One of the most popular overseas holiday destinations just happens to be located there. Youngest Nephew went to visit. He passed through the tourist site on his way to his chosen destination. He was not impressed. His trip there was to a much more remote location, one almost entirely unknown to tourists. The tourist area may seem exotically foreign but it really is just a tourist destination.

Youngest Nephew does not want to go back but we both know people who have been many times. The Senior Cat's brother went many times but he too avoided the tourist area. His purpose in going was to visit a village with a number of traditional potters working in it. They taught him some of their techniques. He taught them other things in return. When he left they were friendly - but not friends. There was little in common between them apart from the pottering. 

I know many other people who have gone to do the sort of "micro aid" tasks for which I have provided communication assistance. They have had much the same experience. Asia is there and south-east Asia is there. There are sometimes disaster areas where help is needed. They will accept that help politely, even ask for it on occasion. The people will be friendly, even welcoming for a time. It is when we believe that this somehow means we are part of the Asian family or that they will choose to do business with them first that we make a mistake.  It is time to acknowledge this. It is long past time to stop being so lazy and look further afield as well. Unless we do then we will continue to lose trade.