(Image source from: Will China and Japan start World War III?})

The tension between China and Japan could soon escalate and boil over leading to a World War III like scenario. Leaders of Asia and the Western powers are worried over the bellicose attitude displayed by the two neighbours, according to reports in dailymail.co.uk. This week the Chinese ambassador to London stated that Japan was 'a serious threat to global peace' by 'rekindling' its belligerent attitude that had led to the spread of World War II into a worldwide conflict. He even compared Japan to Harry Potter character Lord Voldemort, the arch villain in the popular novel.

The incident follows only weeks after China declared the airspace over the East China Sea (covering hundreds of thousands of square miles) as coming under its Air Defence Zone. The area includes eight tiny uninhabited islands called Senkaku Islands by Japan and Diaoyu by China. Even Taiwan has a claim over the islands that were nationalised by Japan in 2012, which raised the hackles of China.

The Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, termed the Chinese act 'a whole new game', while threatening to strike down any Chinese drones that might appear over the Senkakus. China on its part said that any such action by Japan would be akin to a war.

The United States in an attempt to douse the escalating dispute between Beijing and Tokyo immediately dispatched two USAAF B-52s bombers to monitor the disputed islands, ensuring the right to free navigation that it had committed.

According to the analysts at the International Institute Of Strategic Studies, none of the parties to the dispute want an armed conflict, including China that apparently 'aims to push rather than break limits'. However, the tensions between Beijing, Tokyo and Washington has been rising over the years. The good news is that courtesies are maintained between the governments of China, Japan and the US. And it's noteworthy that China holds US debt amounting to trillions of dollars. But history is strife with examples of wars that had been triggered by miscalculations by nations while they tried to test the strength of each other.

(Picture Source: wikimedia.org/aoreport.com/english.people.com.cn)

(AW: Pratima Tigga)