Having built the world’s largest navy, China is keen to show it off. But officials from Australia and New Zealand have been startled in recent days by the way it has been flaunting itself in Oceania. On February 21st a commercial pilot flying over the Tasman Sea received a surprise warning from a Chinese navy task-force in international waters that it was engaging in live-fire drills. Airlines scrambled to divert planes. Since then, the two Chinese warships and one supply vessel have staged an unprecedented circumnavigation of Australia, fuelling political debate about a power that once seemed distant.
The Economist
