Muscle Flexing In The South China Sea

The dispatch of the Haixun-31 patrol vessel into the South China Sea is blatant muscle flexing, despite its overt purpose of making a routine trip to Singapore for a six-day visit. The vessel, seen above sailing from Zhuhai on Wednesday,  is one of the largest and most modern in the Maritime Safety Administration’s fleet. Its voyage comes two days after Vietnam staged a live-fire exercise in the much disputed waters, criticized by Beijing for being a show of force.