Great powers have always attempted to exhaust their rivals indirectly. America has done it. Russia has done it. China is doing it now. Recognizing that history does not excuse current misconduct, but it should protect us from self-righteousness and strategic blindness. Nations rarely act from moral purity alone. They act from interest, opportunity and fear.

At its core, this conflict is about the future balance of power between the United States and China.

A nation that shrugs at repeated incursions invites more. America must respond with clarity, enforcement and consequences before normalization becomes negligence, and before biological or technological capabilities are misused in ways that could cost American lives.