I prefer to use capability + intention to make an assessment.
In the case of the PRC, let alone the South China disputes, for a long time the PRC has had the capability to exert itself - as shown in the clashes with Vietnam long ago (1979 & 1988).
From faraway it looks like intention has been lacking and for reasons unclear to me this dispute has re-appeared.
A difference now is they have a naval capability that is, I'm pretty sure, very much greater than they had before.
"We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." Gen. Nathanael Greene
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