Interesting. China has promised lots of money to help the tsunami victims, but it is literally invisible in terms of onsite help. This is being interpreted (by some, at least) as a sign that China is still not a global player in terms of its skills and diplomatic capabilities.

To be sure, China has hardly been idle. It has promised $83 million in aid, and Chinese citizens have donated $18 million more. Premier Wen Jiabao attended last week’s relief summit in Indonesia, and China has sent supplies and a 14-member medical team to hard-hit Sri Lanka.

Yet those steps have barely registered in media coverage of the aftermath of the Dec. 26 disaster, rife with images of U.S., Australian, and other relief teams at work. The U.S. military is dominating aid efforts, and Japan has promised $500 million and nearly 1,000 troops to help out.

Even Singapore has 900 servicemen and women on the ground in Indonesia.

Analysts say China’s response exposes the limitations on its ability to help in such crises, along with the diplomatic costs of its aversion to foreign entanglements.

“China is rising in importance in Asian and world affairs, but its power, influence, and reach can easily be exaggerated,” said Robert Sutter, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Georgetown University.

China’s absence wouldn’t seem so glaring if it didn’t follow a major foray into the region last year.

Wen was a central figure at November’s meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, where the organization’s 10 member countries agreed to a landmark trade accord with China.

China has also made initiatives aimed at protecting vital sea lanes and securing a steady supply of oil and raw materials to fuel its booming economy. Vague agreements have been reached for cooperation in military training, health care, and tourism, while highways and railroads are planned to draw the regions even closer.

However, China’s civil and military bodies have little experience or capacity to deal with disasters far from its shores. Although Beijing has dispatched civilian peacekeepers to Haiti, Congo and other conflict areas, its forces are poorly equipped for humanitarian missions, especially thousands of miles from home.

China’s response also reflects its extreme caution when approaching overseas entanglements where the upside for China isn’t readily obvious.

Many Chinese still consider their country a poor nation that can’t afford to match Japan and the West in foreign aid, and the government is wary of getting in over its head. While pledges to boost trade carry little political cost, a major foreign relief effort would divert limited resources and could entail longer-term commitments.

Bradley Williams, a research fellow in political science at the National University of Singapore, said China had missed a golden opportunity to shore up Southeast Asian friendships.

“Getting more involved would have provided China with a perfect opportunity to show their more compassionate side and alleviate some of the concerns about their rising influence in the region,” said Williams.

China’s state-controlled media doesn’t see it that way.

The aid offerings “have caught the world’s attention and the people of China are proud of this,” the Communist Party’s official People’s Daily exclaimed with pride last week. “This shows that Chinese people are their true friends and also shows that China is a responsible big country.”

When they need to announce that they’re a “responsible big country,” it’s a good indication that they’re probably not.