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With the worlds attention on the deteriorating situation in Pyongyang, trouble brewing among its neighbours has been overshadowed.

But the Asian continent could erupt into full-blown conflict as India and China - both nuclear-armed - have been at loggerheads over their shared border.

Despite the actual dividing line between the emerging economies situated in uninhabited, inhospitable wasteland, it is a flashpoint for conflict.

China, the powerhouse of the region, is battling neighbour India, another of the developing BRICS nations, for dominance as the sub-continent grows in strength.

Since June armed forces from both countries have been locked in a stand-off along the border, known as the Donglang in China and Doklam in India.

Troops had been amassing due to a spat over the Chinese building a road through a territory Indias ally and neighbour Bhutan disputes.

And on Tuesday soldiers from both sides were involved in a skirmish.

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The fall-out came just before Indian prime minister Narenda Modis 70th birthday, and he boldly declared the country was "strong enough to overcome those who try to act against our country.

With both parties locked into the disagreement for several months, there are fears the situation is a tinderbox which could ignite at any moment.

And as both are nuclear-armed, it could escalate very quickly with devastating consequences.

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Both sides stand to lose tremendously

Shailesh Kumar

Eurasia Group Asia analyst, Shailesh Kumar, said: "Both sides stand to lose tremendously, economically speaking, should this boil over into an actual war.

Earlier this month Chinese state news platform Xinhua published an article "India must not flirt with disaster, claiming Indias involvement in the Doklam area was "an offense to China's sovereignty."

Provocative headlines could stoke the flames of war, with both sides posturing.

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But Alyssa Ayres, senior fellow for India at the Council on Foreign Relations, placed the blame on China.

She said the dispute was a "conflict that China has created.

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But she added the the "Chinese military has more to lose.

The bubbling tension comes as Chinese quasi-ally North Korea had the world on edge as it dangled threats of a nuclear strike.

China has been criticised for its sympathetic attitude towards Kim Jong-uns regime, but recent developments which have seen Pyongyang threaten the US territory of Guam have been met with equal force from US president Donald Trump.

He vowed to retaliate with fire and fury.

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WW3: Forget North Korea - two other Asian giants are gearing up for nuclear battle - Express.co.uk