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

Standoff At Scarborough Shoal

Could valuable oil and gas deposits in the South China Sea be behind the growing military build-up in the region?

The South China Sea is a strategically important and resource-rich area in Asia. Around half of the world's merchant fleets pass through every year carrying an estimated $5 trillion worth of trade. The area is also believed to contain valuable oil and gas deposits.

And ownership is hotly contested. There are ongoing territorial disputes between Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and China. One of the most well-known is the Spratly Islands' hydrocarbon deposits valued at $26.3 trillion.

The latest tension is at the Scarborough Shoal, a small cluster of uninhabitable islands which lies about 220km off the coast of the Philippines and falls under its exclusive economic zone according to international maritime law. But China also claims ownership despite its nearest coastline being 900km away. The Scarborough Shoal has valuable resources including fishing, shipping routes and potentially enormous oil and gas deposits.

In early April, the Philippines' naval forces intercepted eight Chinese fishing vessels in the Scarborough Shoal. They found large numbers of illegally-fished turtles, baby sharks, clams and corals on board. They tried to arrest the poachers but were stopped by the arrival of two Chinese maritime ships leading to a two-month standoff.

The David and Goliath-style situation has forced the Philippines, along with other smaller Asian countries, to work together on joint security. It has also pushed them to cement military ties with the US and Australia.

After more than two decades of double-digit increases in defence spending, China now has the largest fleet of advanced warships, submarines and long strike aircraft in Asia. The Philippines is working hard to get support from allies such as Japan and the US to help it build up its military capabilities.

But months of simmering tension between both sides over the disputed territory is threatening to exact a heavy toll on Philippines' economy and is damaging vital tourism and agricultural sectors.

Business communities in the Philippines are concerned the ongoing standoff threatens trade relations and investments after China tightened regulations on banana imports from the Philippines and several Chinese tour groups cancelled visits to the Philippines. Energy and infrastructure projects have also been put on hold.

As China flexes its economic and military muscle across the Asia Pacific region, 101 East asks if this escalation is a threat to peace and stability.