torsdag 9. april 2020

Coronavirus may be giving Beijing an opening in the South China Sea

As the United States military was embroiled in controversy over its handling of an outbreak of coronavirus on one of its Pacific aircraft carriers, China was resuming operations in the South China Sea. In the past week, the English language website of the People's Liberation Army has posted stories on large-scale naval exercises and the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat. In addition, it also announced the ramping up of military industries in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The South China Sea drills came after the US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt passed through those waters on its way to Guam, where it is now docked after more than 170 cases of coronavirus have been reported aboard the ship.