Disputes Up the Danger in East Asian Waters

Tussles over territory are sparking a lot of saber-rattling

Competing territorial claims and arms buildup near vital trade routes recipe for regional conflict

Increasingly, the world's mightiest powers are finding themselves between rocks and a hard place in the western Pacific.

One focus is on Sansha City, on the tiny Yongxing Island in the South China Sea's Paracel group, recently attached by Beijing to Hainan Province and provided with a new administration and military garrison.