China is probing the US’s willingness to get involved in another conflict.
“Stupid and petty” is how international bullies operate. Pointless violence is how immature people express their “strength”.
I know there have been maritime issues between China and others within the last few years or so
All of the maritime issues have been caused by China attempting to claim the entire South China Sea as their private property, in defiance of international agreements about national coastal waters. All of those issues were provoked by China trying to exert control over coastal waters that are rightfully the property of other nations, such as Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. China is a bad neighbor.