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China-Russia navy drills raise new tensions - April 22, 2012 - News of the exercises came as Japan splashed billions of dollars through the countries of the Mekong delta - Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma - to offset China's growing influence.

Included in Japan's beneficence was a separate cancellation of Burma's entire $3.5 billion debt to Tokyo.

Beijing and Tokyo have a long-running dispute over a chain of islands, called Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan, which sit in rich fishing grounds that may harbour lucrative energy resources.

Further south are groups of mineral-rich islands contested between China, The Philippines and Vietnam.

Japan's defence ministry said in a recent report that China was becoming increasingly active in waters near Japanese territory while Russia was holding more frequent military exercises in its far east region.

It another flare-up that erupted earlier this month, China and The Philippines dispatched vessels as they lay claim to a group of islands in the South China Sea. The islands are said to be rich in oil and natural gas and straddles strategic shipping lanes vital to global trade. Last Friday, India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile in a move aimed at China.

The locally built Agni-V missile can now travel 5000km - or comfortably as far as most of China, including Beijing and Shanghai, which many in India view as a decisive step in narrowing the nation's military gap with its neighbour.

"India has finally reached deterrence parity with China," said Bharat Karnad, a security expert at the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think tank.

In return, The Global Times, a tabloid published by China's Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, warned India not to be "arrogant" "India should be clear that China's nuclear power is stronger and more reliable. For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China."