Chinese leaders have a long history of strategic deception

In September 2015, President Xi Jinping stood in the Rose Garden next to President Barack Obama and made an unambiguous commitment: China had “no intention to militarize” the artificial islands it was building in the South China Sea. The statement carried the solemn authority of a great power — a promise between world leaders, witnessed by the international community.

Yet within three years, satellite imagery revealed military-grade airstrips stretching across previously submerged reefs.