Are there any military exercises which seem normal when you reduce them to metaphors on the individual level? My point is that China is not the only state carr

Are there any military exercises which seem normal when you reduce them to metaphors on the individual level? My point is that China is not the only state carrying out these kinds of exercises. For thirty years now I've been hearing it's going to happen any day, this is the perfect moment, it's inevitable. Meanwhile the US has started multiple wars, and toppled a variety of regimes; France has toppled a regime; the UK and other allies assist in all of this. But the same countries say China is the warmongerer because the coast guard intercepted some boards at the border.