PHILIPPINE SEA (April 4, 2021) Cmdr. Robert J. Briggs and Cmdr. Richard D. Slye monitor surface contacts from the pilothouse of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin.
Mustin is assigned to Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.
Photo Details
[I’d say that approach worked, if it was so intended, gauging the reaction by the Chinese … 
— TJACK]
Chinese commentators have accused the United States of “cognitive warfare” after the US Navy released a puzzling photo.
The photo shows two naval officers, one with his feet up, calmly watching a Chinese aircraft carrier somewhere in the South China Sea. One Hong Kong newspaper said the photo sends a clear message: “We’re watching you.”
“This staged photograph is definitely ‘cognitive warfare’ to show the US doesn’t regard the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] as an immediate threat,” Lu Li-shih, a former teacher at the Republic of China Naval Academy, told the South China Morning Post.
Mr Lu said the comfortable poses of the two naval officers – commanders Robert Briggs and Richard Slye of the USS Mustin – are meant to show how little fear the United States feels about the Liaoning, a Chinese warship.
“In the photo, Commander Briggs looks very relaxed with his feet up watching the Liaoning ship just a few thousand yards away, while his deputy is also sitting beside him, showing they take their PLA counterparts lightly,” he said.
https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Photo-Gallery/igphoto/2002618039/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/china-us-navy-cognitive-warfare-b1830750.html