BEIJING: China's campaign of confrontation, from remote reefs in Southeast Asia to Taiwan and far-flung Japanese islands, is designed to wear down regional rivals competing with it for contested territories, analysts say. Beijing in recent years has asserted its claims in the long-running disputes far more boldly as its military strength has grown. The escalating actions – over islands in the East China Sea claimed by Japan , the self-ruled territory of Taiwan and the South China Sea – have