Asia on war footing as 'son of a b****' Obama teams up with foul-mouthed Philippines chief
THE Philippines and the US launched military exercises today as Indonesia holds its own drills in a show of strength aimed at unsettling China, as Asia edges towards conflict.
As tensions continue to grow in the South China Sea, where there are competing claims to islands and oil-rich waters, east Asia's military powerhouses are readying themselves for a future war.
The annual amphibious landing exercises between the Philippines military and US Marines are taking place on the northern island of Luzon.
The drills follows just weeks after the Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte branded his US counterpart a "son of a b****".
Disagreements between Washington and its key Asian ally risks scuppering a major military partnership and this year's exercise could be the last.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's air force is holding its largest ever military exercise near some of its islands in the South China Sea.
China has triggered Indonesian anger by saying the two countries had "over-lapping claims" to waters near them, in an area Indonesia calls the Natuna Sea.
While Indonesia is not part of the dispute over claims in the South China Sea, it objects to China's inclusion of waters around the Natuna Islands.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan is seeking to counter North Korean aggression with the development of its own missile programme.
Tokyo and Pyongyang have been locked in an arms race since 1998 when North Korea fired a missile over Japan.
But successful rocket tests have propelled North Korea ahead in the race with Japan, leaving Tokyo unsure it could fend off a missile strike by the Pyongyang regime without US help.
More than 2,000 air force personnel are taking part in the two-week long exercise, which includes the deployment of Indonesia's fleet of Russian Sukhoi and F-16 fighter jets.
Other branches of the Indonesian armed forces are not taking part in exercise, which ends on Thursday.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, where around £3 trillion worth of trade passes every year.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea has test fired 21 ballistic missiles since the start of the year, while planned upgrades to Japan's ballistic missile defence are not due to begin until next April.
The deployment of new systems designed to destroy incoming warheads could take years to complete.
In June, a North Korean medium-range Musudan rocket reached an altitude of 620 miles, which could allow Pyongyang to fire warheads at Japan while evading the existing missile defence system.
Last month Moscow and Beijing held eight days of naval drills involving Chinese bombers, Russian submarines and marines from both navies in the hotly-contested South China Sea.
Among the activities carried out was an "island seizing" operation, live-fire drills and landing operations.
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China has insisted the exercises are not aimed at unsettling the US or any of its Asian neighbours who fear a military build-up by Beijing in the South China Sea.
Officials said it was a "routine" drill which was first announced in July.
But the US along with its allies, including the UK, have expressed concern about an escalation of tensions in the region that could spill over into a full blown hot or cold war.
China has repeatedly blamed the US for stoking tensions in the region through its military patrols while Russia has sided with Beijing on the issue of military build up in the South China Sea.
A court in The Hague ruled in July that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticised its environmental destruction there.
But China maintains its claims to a large chunk of the waters.