Answer:
East Asia:
The end of World War 2 resulted in the utter collapse of the Axis powers, namely Germany, Italy, and Japan, and pulled the United States out of isolationism, which resulted in the emergence of two global superpowers: The United States and the Soviet Union. However, after the Yalta Conference, it quickly became clear that Stalin wished to dominate Eastern Europe and develop a buffer zone between the remnants of Germany and the USSR in order to 'protect against any possible future German aggression - at least officially. However, it was widely believed that Stalin wished to spread the revolution around the globe. This was despite promises of free elections in occupied territories.
The issue here is that Communism and Capitalism are drastically different and intensely clashing ideologies. One values freedom of market, while the other values state control of the markets. The emergence of nuclear weapons also made the Soviets come to a harsh realization - that the American arsenal was superior to theirs. As such, the Russians began developing nuclear weapons of their own, and they would soon see this success come to fruition. This created massive tensions between Russia and the United States, as the power of nuclear technology had already been displayed in full view on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Third, the American fear of communism and the sometimes excessive witch-hunting lead to extreme mistrust between the two powers. As such, they often supported opposing sides in proxy conflicts.
For this example, I will be using the outbreak of the Vietnam war. When the war began in 1955, America and Russia both began supplying their respective sides - Russia, the Viet Minh and America the Republican government in Saigon. As the conflict escalated and it became increasingly spotlighted South Vietnam's inefficencies, lack of military competency, and underground pro-communist insurrections, America began deploying soldiers. This began slowly at first and escalated into over 543,000 active troops at its peak.
Despite such a large troop presence, the communist and their insurgent allies were continuing to gain victories. America became desperate to save face and secure some kind of victory, even if it was a strategic one. As such, they began napalming the Vietnamese jungles and bombing Hanoi and other major Northern cities in an attempt to weaken and possibly destroy the Soviet-backed government. As such, it is arguable that the American fervor for victory and triumph over the Communist cause was high enough that they were willing to attempt to destroy an entire nation. The damages done by the American military were massive, and the civilian casualties extreme. Because of this, we can say that this region of East Asia was riddled with conflict and devastation because of America and the Soviet Union's ideological rivalry.
