By Dr Anupama Vijayakumar*
An unusual kind of tension is brewing in Northeast Asia. In a first, China deployed its Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers to the Pacific, generating fresh friction with Japan. The Chinese carriers sailed close to the island of Iwo Jima, a strategically important base of the Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF), situated around 1200 kilometres from Tokyo, and 1300 kilometres from the US facilities located on Guam. (From The Interpreter. The Lowy Institute.)
