The first clear evidence that a new factor had appeared in the struggle for the control of the Pacific Ocean, and all which this implies, was afforded when, in her war with China, Japan crushed that huge empire with a rapidity and completeness that left nothing to chance.
By the use of European ships and European appliances, with a skillful adaptation of European discipline and military methods, Japan defeated the Chinese as hopelessly as any European power could have done. The acquisition of the island of Formosa, the claim of large "spheres or influence" on the adjacent mainland, and the demand for a heavy money indemnity at the peace of Siamosakl (1885) showed the whole east that the most modern ideas of extension of territory and commercial control had been combined with all the persistence and astuteness which Asiatics admittedly possess. Yet so slow were we to appreciate the changed conditions that, when the war began, it was quite commonly believed, not only in the west but in the east, that the "Hite Japs" had undertaken a task far beyond their capacity, and that the huge, unwieldy bulk of China, controlled by the imposing figure of Li Hung Chang, would overwhelm the adventurous islanders.
Even when the war was over, and the victors had gathered in their spoils, Europe still failed to appreciate the significance of what had occurred. The contempt for Japan with which the Chinese had contrived to imbue foreigners in the treaty ports along their coast faded slowly. That contempt did not trouble the Japanese.  Ananeae and their rulers all. They had decided upon a definite policy and they proceeded to carry it out without haste and without rest. 