China is signaling it is prepared to stand its ground on two key regional fronts, diplomatically confronting the United States and South Korea over new missile defenses and intensifying pressure on Japan at sea over disputed islets.
Mainland analysts see little immediate chance for an easing of the tensions roiling Northeast Asia, saying a rising China is showing it is keen to shape its own battlefield despite fresh threats.
"This action is China saying to the world that it has the ability to fight two regional conflicts on its doorstep," said Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law: the South and East China seas.