Beijing is flexing its muscle and trying to extend its reach at a time when the world is preoccupied with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, according to current and former US officials and regional experts.
The most serious clash came on Monday along the rugged border between India and China in the Himalayas. India said 20 of its troops died in fighting with Chinese troops that involved rocks, iron bars and fists but no guns. It was the worst violence on the disputed border in 45 years, and India accused China of carrying out a premeditated action to target Indian troops. China blamed India for the fighting in the Galwan valley.
To underscore its claims to the South China Sea, Beijing recently renamed 80 geographic features in the waterway and declared two new"administrative districts" around the Paracel and Spratly islands, prompting protests from Hanoi. Vietnam and five other countries have rejected China's declarations and have competing claims over the sea, a vital transit route for global shipping and home to potential oil and natural gas resources.
Sending a signal to Taiwan, China in April deployed a naval battle group — including the country's aircraft carrier Liaoning — to sail off of Taiwan's eastern coast. China has staged air force drills near the island and has announced plans for a military exercise later this year that analysts say will simulate the seizure of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, China also has adopted a more aggressive tone in state-backed media and in statements from government officials, including embracing conspiracy theories about the pandemic, according to analysts who track information operations.
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