 "One belt, one road" is a development strategy started by the Chinese government in  The New Silk Road Economic Belt: link China with Europe through Central and Western Asia.  The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road: connect China with Southeast Asian countries, Africa and Europe.  Neither the belt nor the road follows any clear line geographically speaking; they serve more as a roadmap for how China wants to further integrate itself into the world economy and strengthen its influence in these regions.

 The economic potential is immense.  The initiative encompasses 65 countries with a total population 4.4 billion people.  In 2014, China’s trade with countries along the "Belt and Road" was estimated at USD1.12 trillion.  President Xi Jinping has publicly declared his hope that this amount will exceed US$2.5 trillion in a decade under this initiative.

China proposed the establishment of AIIB during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bali, Indonesia in The proposal is aimed at meeting the growing needs and demands of infrastructure financing in the Asian region. AIIB will generally operate as a multilateral institution with the objective of channeling financial assistance for infrastructure projects to member states. AIIB membership is open to all countries, including those from outside the region. AIIB will play a major role in speeding up development, in the region where some $8 trillion in investment is expected to be required in the next five years alone

 World Bank and Asian Development Bank are always dominated by US and Japan respectively. Reforms to give China a little more say at the International Monetary Fund have been delayed for years  ADB and World Bank loans support everything from environmental protection to gender equality, the AIIB will concentrate its firepower on building roads, mobile phone towers and other forms of infrastructure in poorer parts of Asia  China’s success in persuading so many major countries to join the bank represents a significant step forward in Beijing’s attempts to present itself as a responsible and constructive member of the international community. It marked as a significant foreign policy success for China and signs of its growing global influence.  China will use the new bank to expand its influence at the expense of US and Japan, Asia's established powers.

 As at June 2015, AIIB has 57 member countries (37 from Asia and 20 from regions outside Asia)

The Fiery Cross Reef, 2,740,000 square meters.

Johnson South Reef, 109,000 square meter

World's most awkward head of state handshake as Xi Jinping and Shinzo Abe meet( ) Historical controversies, Territory dispute

Senkaku islands (Diaoyu islands) dispute 6.3 km 2 Oil and Gas reserves China >80 years Japan >100 years The role of the US is?

 The deployment of Japanese and Chinese air and naval assets around the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands could be the most dangerous standoff since the Cuban Missile Crisis  A fishing boat landing on one of the islands in distress could result in one side forcibly evicting the citizens of the other.  The Chinese government may find footage of Japanese police arresting its citizens on territory it claims intolerable, thus prompting Beijing to respond militarily.

 The United States and Japan might also have a conflict with North Korea. While Japan will likely not be directly involved in any fighting, it would almost certainly extend logistical support to U.S. forces.  A situation might even arise in which Japan is not a voluntary belligerent, but gets sucked into conflict with China anyway.  China’s primary aim is to strengthen its leadership in Asia and undermine America’s. The best way to do that without confronting America too directly is to weaken the alliances and partnerships that underpin U.S. regional leadership.  China’s threatening military actions around the islands have stoked Japanese anxieties about whether, in the event of a clash, America would provide military support.

 China is increasing it’s economic influence in the region with new FTA’s negotiations and the one belt – one road initiative.  China is locked in a dispute with many of its neighbors over territory in the region.