Not necesssarily provocative, they have every right to free navigation of the seas, unless they deliberately interfere with operations (I could tell you some hair-raising stories from my Nav days, playing chicken with the Russkis in the North Atlantic. That was really provocative stuff.

The Chinese are building up a world-class Navy, and my sources tell me they've got some really hot boats. They're just probing us, gathering intel on our capabilities, training their crews and developing tactics. I would not doubt we've "stalked" a few of their boats too. You're right, this is not an alarming story, but it does indicate the Chinese feel they have more to gain by playing these games than we do. That's scary.