Numerous reports have raised fears that China is taking advantage of U.S. distraction and the sidelining of two U.S. aircraft carriers in the Pacific due to the COVID-19 pandemic. China had made similar accusations against the United States earlier this year, claiming Washington was exploiting China's pandemic response to advance its own containment strategy. And both are correct in that the pandemic does not appear to have slowed down Chinese or U.S. activities in the region. The continued pace of maritime operations in the South China Sea despite COVID-19 stands out, a pace that has continued to rise over the past few years. Rather than this being a brief surge in activity by China to exploit U.S. weakness, it is a reflection of ongoing — and harbinger of continued — escalation.