The coronavirus, which has infected over two million people globally, first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year. There have been accusations both domestically and internationally that Chinese authorities ignored early warnings about the outbreak and attempted to downplay its severity. Collin Koh, an expert on maritime security at Singapore’s NTU, said there were “speculations” about whether the pandemic would hamper China’s ability to “maintain vigil over issues of national defense and security concerns.”