It is impossible to calculate the true cost of war. There are far too many facets of armed conflict that defy adequate measurement. However, there are some commonly used metrics that we often use to compare the tragedies associated with war. Paul Waldman tallied up the various criteria that are used to place American armed conflict in context. Many of his charts are quite revealing.
A Vietnamese fishing vessel sank off the coast of Vietnam after it was rammed by a Chinese vessel. Both sides blame each other for the sinking so it will be difficult to figure out exactly what happened–the stories from each side are quite different. The incident occurred close to the oil rig positioned by China in disputed waters, and the sinking marks a sharp escalation of the dispute between the two countries. As one can see from the BBC map, the oil rig is placed within the Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone as determined by the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea.
A team from The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that is monitoring the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria was attacked and its members kidnapped. The Syrian government blamed the rebels in the civil war, but there is no way right now to confirm the identity of the attackers. The attack is a serious breach of international law and the attackers most certainly knew of the seriousness of their actions. Unfortunately, the UN has no way to intervene to ensure the safety of its team. Most likely, there will be negotiations that will ultimately lead to the release of the team.
World Politics News 
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