Why is the US escalating its presence in the South China Sea amid the coronavirus pandemic?

This year, the United States has ramped up its military activities in the South China Sea, sparking debate over why, particularly when most actors have scaled down military activities because of the pandemic. Will this – and the increasing risk of a clash – be the new normal?While the number and frequency of traditional US intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance probes is roughly the same – hundreds each year along China’s coasts – other military activities have increased. In the first…

from South China Morning Post https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3084517/why-us-escalating-its-presence-south-china-sea-amid-coronavirus