Fair comment. These blocs seem kind of arbitrary, particularly when a modern, rich and highly developed society such as Singapore is grouped in with struggling war torn nations struggling with basic survival but they likely serve a purpose for someone.

> I doubt any Australians are in a hurry to classify themselves as an Eastern society and not a Western one.

Nearly 20% of the Australian population has origins in Asia so I think at least a fifth would not be too upset. We have a predominantly European descended population and that has a huge influence on our national identity. Even if it makes no geographic sense it is convention to call us a western multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society and I think we would mostly recognize ourselves by that label.

Whatever we are called we are still here a few hundred km to the south of Indonesia. Northern Australians were trading with Sulawesi before Europeans arrived. Te reo Māori is a very distant relative of the languages spoken throughout Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. We aren't moving.