Meanwhile, in northeast Asia . . .

Two incidents.

This:

There is a serious military confrontation going on in the Far East with Japan, South Korea, Russia, and China squaring off in the skies over 2 disputed islands in the Sea of Japan.

The incident began when South Korean military detected an incursion by a Russian A-50 command and control military aircraft that violated its airspace. Japan scrambled its own fighters and Russia responded by deploying some TU-95 bombers. Two Chinese H-6 bombers accompanied the Russia warplanes on sorties throughout the region.

A South Korean military spokesman said that they fired more than 300 warning shots at the Russian A-50. Russia vehemently denies they violated Korean airspace. The National Interest:

South Korean aircraft “conduced unprofessional maneuvers by crossing the course of Russian strategic missile carriers, threatening their security,” said the Russian Ministry of Defense, according to CNN. The ministry didn’t mention the A-50 command aircraft or the warning shots that South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported to have occurred.

Russia also said, according to CNN, the flight was “carried out in order to deepen and develop Russian-Chinese relations” and was “not aimed against third countries.”

The Russian account was  disputed by Japan, which agreed with the South Korean military about the incident. CNN:

But in a statement Tuesday afternoon, Japan's Ministry of Defense backed up South Korea's claims, saying the A-50 had flown over the islands and that Tokyo had scrambled fighters to intercept.

In a further complication, both South Korea and Japan said that two Chinese H-6 bombers had joined the Russian military aircraft on sorties through the region as well.

Over the past few years, Russia has continuously buzzed U.S. warships and violated our airspace. The belief is that they are testing our response to potential conflicts. This very well may be a similar effort to determine readiness and responses by both Japan and South Korea.

And this:

[Two North Korean-launched missiles] travelled around 270 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan - also known as the East Sea -  say reports from the troubled region.

It is the first missile test reported since President Trump and North Korean leader met at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas at the end of June.

The White House, Pentagon and US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

However, the joint chiefs said South Korean and US militaries were reportedly analysing details of the launches.

A US defence official said the secret launch appears to be similar to the recent May 2019 launch where two short range missiles were also launched.

Memo to the Very Stable Genius: North Korea is our enemy and Russia and China are our strategic adversaries. None of them are impressed by the appeal of possible "deals." This is real life and we're dealing with actors whose present positions are the distillation of centuries of cultural, ideological and geographic inputs that inherently make for interests at odds with ours.

Be prepared and wary. Patty-cake is a very dangerous way to proceed.