China delivered a wake-up call to its neighbors last week, making it clear that Beijing has decided on a course of military assertiveness as its capabilities increase.
“We kept silent and tolerant over territorial disputes with our neighbors in the past because our navy was incapable of defending our economic zones, but now the navy is able to carry out its task,” Xu Guangyu, a retired general, said in response to Japanese protests over Chinese ships chasing out a Japanese survey vessel in a disputed area. General Xu termed China's previous naval absence “an abnormal historical accident” that is being rectified.
