Japan and the Philippines flew patrol planes near disputed South China Sea waters for a second straight day on Wednesday, despite Chinese criticism of this week's air and sea exercises. A Japanese P-3C Orion and a Philippine navy Islander conducted a search and rescue drill 50 nautical miles (93 kilometres) northwest of the Philippine island of Palawan, officials said. The flight was in the general direction of the resource-rich Reed Bank claimed by both the Philippines and China, but officials refused to say if the planes flew directly over the area. Japan, Philippines make second flight near disputed waters - Yahoo News Japan has been beefing up their military to be more than just a defense force and there are voices in Japan that would like a return to pre-WWII mentality. Dangerous.
This is what happens when the USA lacks an effective president. China in 'land-grab' mode, return of the cold war with Russia, the rise of ISIS, etc. Our long time allies are starting to think they need to form 'other' alliances.
