Sensing a widening gulf between Japan and the US, the Chinese Navy is demonstrating its growing might in the seas around Japan – and asserting its aspiration to replace the US as the Pacific’s dominant naval power. There is a precedent for this: when the US closed Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, the Chinese military immediately stepped up its activity around the Spratly Islands, which are recognized as Filipino territory but which China is claiming vehemently.