Why is China going fucking ape shit over Japan right now? Because China needs to avoid an anti hegemonic coalition against it, so threatening to bash the skull in of anyone who seems to be doing that is an OK move, if they don’t think they can buy them off. It’s not like they exclusively brashly threaten. They’ve been rather cautious, adroit, and cunning in southeast Asia, offering investment, instead of threats. I’m not even sure this is the wrong strategy to take. Some level of stochasticity as a rising power often works.