The littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords on Tuesday sailed close to a drillship named West Capella, contracted by Malaysia’s national oil company, after two other U.S. naval vessels patrolled there last week. The U.S. Navy called these presence operations. U.S. officials have accused China of coercing smaller countries out of developing offshore resources. “The flurry of activity has included exercises in the South China Sea last month that involved three American warships and an Australian navy frigate. It comes at a time when a coronavirus outbreak aboard aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has raised questions about the U.S.’s military readiness,” said Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at RSIS.