If US-China arms build-up continues apace, demons of war will prevail
Days earlier, US forces took part in the Tiger Strike 24 bilateral exercise with Malaysia. The military drills featured joint amphibious operations in the South China Sea, where China has overlapping territorial claims with Malaysia and other neighbours such as Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam. While Indonesia is not a claimant state, its exclusive economic zone stretches to the edge of the South China Sea, where it has challenged Chinese efforts to fish.