They want to secure the seaplanes required for a secure superpower and that means ejecting the US Navy from the East and South China Seas.
They want us tooling around near Midway and no closer.
Basically the Japan of the 1930’s is the China of today, but with over 100 million pissed-off, permanent bachelors.
SEALANES not freaking SeaPlanes.
freaking spellcheck.
The PLA has them