, Columnist
China’s Naval Moves Show the Scale of Its Ambition
Beijing’s military might is on display across Asia. How will Washington respond?
China’s great power adventurism.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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In the last two weeks, the People’s Liberation Army conducted live-fire naval drills in the international waters off Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam, and shooting drills in the Taiwan Strait. These exercises are a sign of China’s growing confidence as a maritime power.
This show of military might is a signal to its closest neighbors that they’ll have to start relying on each other, or boost their own defense capabilities far more than they originally thought. They can’t expect to depend on the US for backup.