Armed Conflict Looming In East Asia

At the heart of the territorial dispute is a chain of islands under Japanese control that is also claimed by Taiwan.

The islands - known as Senkaku in Japan, Diaoyu in China and Diaoyutai on Taiwan - are close to strategic shipping lanes and are thought to have oil deposits.

Japan is also locked in another territorial dispute with its former colony South Korea. Both claim sovereignty over another island chain, known as Takeshima by the Japanese and Dokdo by the Koreans.

All these disagreements are linked to Japan's 20th century military expansion across Asia.

Also adding to the anger of Japan's neighbours was the way two Japanese cabinet ministers decided the mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific.

They ignored the Japanese prime minister's call and visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, a move that always anger China and South Korea.

To both Beijing and Seoul the gesture amounts to an official veneration of the 14 convicted war criminals laid to rest there, along with the two million war dead.

"A lot of this is due to the fact that Japan was made to look somewhat cowardly in 2010 when it had to hand over the Chinese ship captain who was in the boat collision in the dispute over the Senkaku islands… Japan wants to be strong and they need to protect themselves in the region."

Brett Bull, a freelance reporter