Asia's own 'Balkans' a tinderbox THESE are no ordinary times in East Asia. With tensions rising from conflicting territorial claims in the East China and South China seas, the region increasingly resembles a 21st-century maritime redux of the Balkans a century ago - a tinderbox on water. Nationalist sentiment is surging across the region, reducing the domestic political space for less confrontational approaches. Relations between China and Japan have now fallen to their lowest ebb since diplomatic normalisation in 1972, significantly reducing bilateral trade and investment volumes, and causing regional governments to monitor developments with growing alarm.