The Chinese propaganda says they're just defending their territory, but as far as I can tell it's just expansionism in disguise. That is to say, they've been taking areas that even China considered to be part of (say) India, rewriting the past so that they're not only part of China but always have been, and sending in troops to claim them. In many ways their claim to the South China Sea is like this too.
yes, I'm watching them to see the incongruence. But primarily, the Chinese constitution calls for upholding territorial unity, and this undermines every other right granted in the constitution, and this is the nature of most of their punishments domestically, demands from foreigners (like when actors and celebrities end up saying boilerplate comments about Chinese sovereignty and unity, and it barely makes any sense to the English audience about why they would say that), and it is also congruent with their actions.
Now, is the limitation of my perspective that they can rationalize anything with this? Or that the unanimous People's Congress can update the constitution if any other roadblock is in their way? Sure. I just don't see that predilection.
There are plenty of disputed land borders around the edges of China. But I just don't see things beyond that and the South China Sea.
I was surprised to see the treatment of their state of Inner Mongolia, and to me this is a separate form of discrimination in favor of Han Chinese (or something more nuanced). My line in the sand - for the expansionist opinion - would be taking pieces of Mongolia. Or way into states of India and bordering nations. Or way past Xinjiang.
