* China remains determined to claim sovereignty over international waters in the western Pacific
* Strategic importance of the U.S. alliance with Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines
* Large-deck aircraft carrier an important interment in projecting American seapower
* U.S. Navy not prepared to counter Russian maritime buildup in the eastern Mediterranean
Caption
The P4 laboratory, on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)