Turns out ULA has been actively working on this 'space destroyer' concept which is aimed at guarding satellites and if necessary attack enemy satellites
There it is. Vulcan Centaur's upper stage is being pitched as a tug that can be used to improve the maneuverability of US satellites. So basically instead of disposing the upper stage after the end of a mission, it can remain in orbit to aid US satellites or inspect/attack Chinese satellites
This is quite a good article to get a sense of what's happening between the two nations in orbit: