The posturing is not confined to maneuvering military assets; it also runs along economic lines, in which most warfare is at least based if not a major or the sole impetus.  Each power has sought to cement its claims/presence in areas bordering the sphere of influence of, or the actual territory of the other power.  Such posturing can be dangerous and lead to an incident that escalates into the uncontrollable.

Recently the news media has been abuzz with the Russian fighter aircraft buzzing the U.S. in the face: first the incident with the two fighters coming within 30 feet of an American naval vessel, and another separate incident involving aerial theatrics around a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft (a Boeing RC-135 intelligence-gathering spy plane).  The U.S. responded in kind on April 20 by allowing a guided missile destroyer, the U.S.S. Cook to encroach upon Russian borders while conducting maneuvers near Poland.  The U.S. claimed that Russian aircraft were doing fly-by's to intimidate the destroyer.