China and Egypt concluded joint naval exercises on Wednesday, as Beijing expands its military influence to the eastern Mediterranean, with a guided missile destroyer part of the PLA Navy’s 46th escort task group. Naval vessels from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army took part in drills, training, and a flotilla ceremony with their Egyptian counterparts off the coast of Alexandria, which began on Monday and ended Wednesday, as part of a five-day visit by Beijing’s naval forces. The exercises were perceived, by some, as another projection of Chinese military power far beyond its borders, as th…