Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine produced a rare expression of displeasure from the US government, but the majority of US people have expressed little interest in this event, writes John Eddington.

Mr. Abe’s homage to Japan’s war dead, in the court of world public opinion, smacks of denial of his nation’s wartime aggression — and has been widely condemned. This impression only strengthens China’s hand in current disputes with Japan — and therefore also in its strategic competition with the United States, writes Sung-Yoon Lee.

On 26 December 2013, Shinzo Abe made a high-profile visit to the Yasukuni Shrine and said the visit fulfilled his long-cherished wish. The war shrine visit puts China-Japan relations in deep freeze and disturbs the geometry of power in the western Pacific, writes Liu Junhong.

Shifting the focus of domestic contradictions was also smugly calculated into Abe's decision. His shrine visit again brazenly affronted Chinese people and the people of other victimized countries and aggravated relations with Japan's neighbors, writes Li Wei.

China’s announcement of its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) surprised the world. And the strong response from the international community surprised China.

The already tense atmosphere in the East China Sea ratcheted up a notch when China declared a new air defense identification zone, writes Margaret Lewis, and the political realities of this increasingly tough neighborhood are frightening.

Japan’s viewpoints on history, international law and Asia are in direct contravention of contemporary international law, writes Liu Junhong.

Analyzing the 1943 Cairo Declaration, Greg Austin argues that China’s outrage over the disputed islands is rooted in this document signed 70 years ago and driving its foreign policy. To ease tensions in the region, both China and Japan must come to the table and acknowledge the high emotions surrounding the dispute.

As the escalating standoff in the East China Sea continues, Tom Watkins urges calm in Beijing, Tokyo, and throughout Asia.