Well, “we have to look strong” basically sums it all up, yeah. To quote a famous American saying, “Walk softly and carry a big stick”. We’ve been doing it for centuries, google Commodore Matthew Perry for an old example. Another good example would be Reagan reactivating our old Iowa class battleships just because they looked so dangerous, even though they were basically obsolete in the era of aircraft.

Making a threat can be very useful, it’s not hard to understand. Same reason a dog growls or a cat hisses.