The 'Cheonan' incident has prodded and expedited the strategic comeback of the US in East Asia. The US offer to mediate the territorial disputes over islands and seabed minerals in the South China Sea at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in July 2010 has provoked harsh criticism from the Chinese. This US diplomatic move appears to be a premeditated one to substantially diminish the influence of China in the region, to re-secure its own strategic forward military presence and to signal that it is not yet time for China to acquire absolute control over this critical waterway.

Following the dispute over the seizure of a Chinese trawler and its crew by Japan in the disputed waters in the East China Sea believed to be rich in oil and gas resources, Beijing has been flexing its muscles against Tokyo in another area. However, this one may have far deeper consequences not only for Japan but for the rest of the world.