Leaders from South East Asian countries will meet in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN and East Asia summit this week, including US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.This comes amid escalating tension between the US and China over the South China Sea territorial dispute -- an issue expected to be discussed in the summit. We look at why the US has increased its involvement in this dispute, throwing its weight behind the ASEAN claimants. And could the cycle of provocation between China, US and ASEAN eventually escalate to military action? Listen to the podcast for more.

This report is by Jason Lim.