New Arms Race In The South China Sea

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CNBC: Asia defense spending: New arms race in South China Sea

Indonesia alone is buying 20 frigates from the Netherlands to upgrade its naval capabilities.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan are beefing up their military in the face of increasingly bold incursions in the region by China. But most of that spending is not going to weapons makers in the United States.

China has over recent years declared increasing levels of sovereignty over the South China Sea, even parts of it that are far from the Chinese mainland. Largely as a result, other nations in the region have allocated more money for weapons and are expected to spend even more: IHS Janes sees virtually every nation in the region boosting expenditures—Indonesian procurement spending is expected to spike by 61 percent by 2021, for instance, and the Philippines is seen doubling spending in that time frame.

WNU Editor: China's territorial claims has completely changed the regional geopolitics in the South China Sea region. My prediction .... and it is an easy one .... is that this arms race is only going to escalate.