"Provocation" is in the eye of the beholder

The PTB in Washington, D.C. truly have a serious empathy deficit. How would this shoe fit on their foot? To wit:

[A] "WSJ lead story about [the] Chinese developing a ballistic missile designed to fragment – like a cluster bomb – on the deck of a U.S. carrier and wipe out all aircraft and personnel.  Naturally, it’s unbelievably provocative to us [i.e., the US Navy], because in our world view, U.S. carriers get to come right up to the coast of any nation whenever we please, bringing all that magnificent power projection to bear." [Thomas P.M. Barnett @ BattleLand blog]

The nerve of those Chinese! How could these countries be so damn provocative?