What is behind China's new belligerence?

So much for a peaceful rise...

China military
(Image credit: (REUTERS))

In the past nine months, the People's Republic of China has been on a bender. It has picked fights and barged into territory claimed by Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, using planes, ships, even an oil rig, to bully its neighbors.

For the last two decades, China's neighbors have nervously looked on and wondered if a strong economy and increased military spending might create a China more willing to use force to solve territorial disputes. Those fears seemed to have been unfounded, as China turned out to be a relatively benign neighbor.

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Kyle Mizokami is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Daily Beast, TheAtlantic.com, The Diplomat, and The National Interest. He lives in San Francisco.