He said ... after years of underinvestment in the Royal Navy which saw the number of fighting ships drop by 60%. He also said there were several other parallels, including a troubled coalition government which believed more in soft power than a powerful military

A Chinese navy hospital ship called the Peace Ark sailed on Friday into Havana Bay in Cuba, reflecting good relations between the communist allies and China's expanding global presence.

It is unclear what might have precipitated this precipitate shift in Chinese public diplomacy. Nothing seems to have transpired in the South China Sea, especially regarding Vietnam or the Philippines, to elicit such a series of over-wrought Chinese reactions. Just a few possible explanations include: