One place Xi is aggressively doing that is the South China Sea. She continued, 'Crucially, the parade allowed Xi to demonstrate that China isn't isolated despite American pressure. For example, it shows how China's military has arrived on the global stage and how far it has come in its modernisation journey. This is illustrated in the South China Sea, as Xi seeks to ruthlessly punish the Philippines for what it perceives as Manila's U-turn. It is ironic that China said it wished to protect the environment when large-scale dredging and island construction in the South China Sea over many years has led to widespread destruction, even as its fishing fleet plunders the world's oceans.