Voice of America Chinese Broadcast (July 14, 2026)

The program reported that Trump announced the restoration of a maritime blockade on Iran's ports and oil terminals, and said the U.S. will control the Strait of Hormuz; reported the death of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and various condolences; introduced a statement by 14 countries and the EU commemorating the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration ruling; reported unmanned boat resupply and 3D‑printing technology in the Rim of the Pacific military exercises, China’s first recovery of a reusable rocket booster, China’s helium export ban and H200 chip procurement trends; and finally focused on the damage to the California June Fourth Memorial Hall and a U.S. lawmaker’s call to investigate multinational repression.

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President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States will resume a maritime blockade of Iran’s ports and oil terminals, and said the U.S. will take over the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s recent attacks on vessels in this strategic waterway.

Iranian forces launched a new round of attacks last weekend on a container ship flying the flag of Cyprus that was transiting the strait in the early hours of Sunday, prompting U.S. forces to carry out retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets.

Trump posted on Truth Social that the Strait of Hormuz is open, and will remain open regardless of Iran’s participation. We are restoring the blockade of Iran, which is called that because it only prevents Iranian ships or customers from entering or exiting. He noted that all other nations will use the strait fairly and openly.

The United States initially imposed the blockade on Iran on April 13, trying to pressure Tehran to negotiate over its nuclear program. The blockade was lifted after a temporary agreement was signed on June 18. Trump praised the effectiveness of the blockade, saying it caused Iran to lose $5 billion in oil revenue each day.

In his post, Trump said the U.S. will control the strait to protect merchant vessels from attack. He said that from now on the United States will be called the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz. But as guardian, for the sake of fairness, the United States will receive compensation equal to 20% of all cargo volume to cover any and all costs required to provide security for this turbulent region, and related procedures and staffing will begin immediately.

Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham died on July 11. Graham was a long‑time supporter of Taiwan and advocated a hard‑line policy toward China, repeatedly issuing tough statements on Taiwan security, China policy, and U.S.–China relations. Taiwan President Lai Ching‑te and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued condolences, calling Graham a close friend of Taiwan.

Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham died on July 11 from a sudden illness at the age of 71. Graham was regarded in Congress as a hawk on China and a key ally of Trump. He was friendly toward Taiwan and visited the island three times.

Taiwan President Lai Ching‑te posted on X on Sunday expressing deep sorrow over Graham’s sudden death, calling him a close friend of Taiwan, a steadfast advocate and defender of freedom, and saying he will be forever remembered. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also posted on X that Taiwan mourns Graham’s passing, describing him as a true friend who firmly supported and helped deepen the U.S.–Taiwan partnership, and that his bond with Taiwan will be forever remembered.

Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen mourned the death of Graham on the X platform, calling him a principled person who supported Taiwan's freedom and democracy, and saying his passing would be deeply regretted by friends in Taiwan, the United States and around the world. Graham had long supported strengthening U.S.-Taiwan relations, leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to Taiwan in 2022, meeting then‑President Tsai Ing-wen, and repeatedly pushing for stronger security cooperation with Taiwan in the U.S. Congress. He also advocated increasing U.S. military support for Taiwan and criticized Beijing for pressuring Taiwan.

President Trump and leaders of many countries expressed condolences for the death of Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. Both President Trump and Vice President Vans posted tributes to Graham. On Sunday morning, Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform that Senator Graham was one of the greatest people and senators he knew, always diligent, a true American patriot, and will be deeply missed.

Vice President J.D. Vans, who worked with Graham in the Senate before becoming vice president, said Graham came from humble beginnings and rose to the core of power in the world's strongest nation, becoming one of the most influential legislators. Vans posted on X that Graham's story is a quintessential American story.

Graham was a staunch ally of Israel, advocating strong military and diplomatic support for the Jewish state. He was also a leading congressional supporter of Ukraine. Regarding Russia's invasion, he called for tougher U.S. sanctions. Graham had just returned to the United States from Ukraine shortly before his death.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed deep sorrow over Graham's death, writing on X that Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make the world safer. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in responding to the news, called Graham a close friend and posted on X that Lindsey understood the inseparable security link between Israel and the United States, devoted his life to defending the U.S., strengthening alliances, and standing up for the free world.

Graham won the Republican primary in June this year, and his Senate term was set to enter a fifth term. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced that Graham's sister would fill the vacant Senate seat. Graham's Senate term was originally scheduled to end in early January 2027.

The United States, the Philippines and 14 other countries issued a joint statement on Saturday marking the tenth anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration award, reaffirming that the ruling is legally binding. The 14 nations reiterated the tribunal's decision, declaring that China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis.

On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued a ruling favorable to the Philippines on the South China Sea dispute. All five arbitrators unanimously found that China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea lack legal basis and rejected the nine‑dash line drawn by China. The case was brought by the Philippines in 2013; China refused to participate in the arbitration and rejected its outcome.

The joint statement from the 14 countries described the ruling as a milestone and reiterated a firm opposition to any destabilizing or unilateral actions, including the use of force or coercion that threatens regional peace and stability.

The governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom jointly issued a statement reaffirming their steadfast commitment to maintaining a peaceful, stable, rules‑based, and internationally‑law‑grounded free and open Indo‑Pacific region, and commemorating the tenth anniversary of the tribunal's unanimous award on July 12, 2016, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The statement reaffirmed that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The tribunal's award from ten years ago is a significant milestone; regarding the maritime rights and claims adjudicated by the tribunal, it constitutes a final, legally binding and certain resolution between China and the Philippines.

The statement reiterated that China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on historic rights, have no legal basis. It emphasized the need to uphold the freedoms of navigation and overflight embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as other lawful uses of the sea under international law.

The statement reaffirmed a firm opposition to any destabilizing or unilateral actions, including the use of force or coercion that threatens regional peace and stability; it also condemned the use of coast guard, military or maritime militia forces to harass, obstruct or intimidate legitimate actions of other countries at sea or in the air. Such conduct endangers the safety of Philippine personnel and fishermen and seriously harms regional peace and security.

The statement urges all parties to adhere to the 2016 ruling and to peacefully resolve disputes through dialogue and other lawful mechanisms in accordance with international law. Nations will continue to steadfastly support a free and open Indo‑Pacific region and reaffirm their commitment to achieving a shared vision with ASEAN, making the South China Sea a sea of peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity driven by thriving legitimate commerce.

The European Union issued a statement on the tenth anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration ruling, recognizing the ruling as legally binding and expressing concern over the continued escalation of tensions and dangerous incidents in the South China Sea. The EU reiterated its firm opposition to any unilateral actions that threaten regional stability and the international order.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, speaking on behalf of the European Union on July 11, said that the 2016 arbitration award, rendered by an independent and impartial tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is final and legally binding on all parties to the case. As a milestone ruling for the peaceful settlement of disputes, it must be respected and fully implemented by the relevant parties.

The EU statement reaffirmed support for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and reiterated backing for the ongoing efforts by ASEAN and China to achieve a legally binding Code of Conduct for the South China Sea. The statement said the EU is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of tensions and dangerous incidents in the South China Sea, resolutely opposes any unilateral actions that threaten regional stability and the international order based on international law and the rule of law, and is firmly committed to safeguarding the safety, freedom and openness of maritime routes in the Indo‑Pacific and beyond.

On July 11, the governments of the United States, the Philippines and 12 other countries also issued a joint statement on the tenth anniversary of the South China Sea arbitration award, once again confirming that the landmark ruling is final and legally binding, and reaffirming that China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea have no legal basis. The statement also reiterated firm opposition to any destabilizing behavior or unilateral actions, including the use of force or coercion that threatens regional peace and stability.

During the 2026 Pacific Rim military exercise held in Hawaii, the U.S. military successfully completed the world’s first logistics resupply of a carrier‑strike group and other major warships by unmanned surface vessels in a multinational exercise, and deployed expeditionary 3D‑printing technology directly to frontline ships to ensure that forces can manufacture critical supplies such as unmanned vehicles on site even under extreme wartime conditions.

Private‑sector innovators demonstrated drones, unmanned boats and expeditionary 3D‑printing technology during the exercise. These technologies can directly produce mission‑critical parts for forces operating in the Pacific region.

An unmanned vessel named “Typhoon” completed the world’s first fully autonomous logistics run to a U.S. aircraft carrier and amphibious assault ship in a multinational exercise. Its role is somewhat like Uber, but it is an unmanned Uber. If personnel are deployed at remote outposts or isolated beaches, the boat can deliver supplies there autonomously and at scale.

This small unmanned boat operates fully autonomously and can transport medical supplies, ammunition, food and emergency parts to remote frontlines. Unlike the costly and manpower‑intensive logistics of using helicopters or large support ships, unmanned boats can dramatically simplify sustainment in resource‑constrained environments while protecting the lives of battlefield personnel.

Deploying the system requires two people and four hours, but the entire setup is ship‑based. The 3D printer can manufacture a wide range of needed supplies, with a core capability of producing drones—up to 750 units per month.

If war breaks out or supply chains are completely severed, the system can use motors, wings and parts sourced from South Korea, printing only the airframe, or use components from Japan, the Philippines or Taiwan. Frontline units can leverage locally available parts to print and assemble drones on site. This means that, regardless of where forces are deployed, they can produce critical equipment even when supply chains are disrupted.

Close cooperation between the U.S. military and civilian innovation firms, leveraging these cutting‑edge technologies, is reshaping battlefield logistics and resupply.

Chinese officials announced on Friday that they had successfully recovered a booster from an orbital‑class rocket for the first time. This is seen as a significant step for China in catching up with U.S. reusable‑rocket technology. Analysts said it marks an important day in the U.S.–China space race, though the United States has maintained a lead in this field for more than a decade and China still lags technologically.

According to China’s state broadcaster CCTV, the Long March‑10 carrier rocket lifted off on Friday from the Hainan commercial space launch site. About six minutes after booster separation, the booster descended vertically and was captured by a recovery net on a sea‑based platform. The mission also placed a satellite into its intended orbit. Chinese state media described the experiment as a major breakthrough.

Following the news, the stocks of several Chinese aerospace companies, including China Satellite and China Satcom, surged to their daily limits. However, this milestone also highlights that China still has a gap with the United States in this critical space technology.

As early as December 2015, the American space exploration company SpaceX had already achieved the first successful recovery of a Falcon 9 rocket booster, more than a decade earlier than China's first successful recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster. Since then, SpaceX has industrialized this technology; the company now launches the Falcon 9 about 150 times a year, roughly three times a week, and a single booster can be reused dozens of times.

In contrast, China's Long March 10 has so far completed only one recovery. According to official media, China plans to use this recovered booster for its next launch mission by the end of 2026, meaning only one reuse is planned for this year. SpaceX boosters typically complete refurbishment in about three weeks and are ready for the next launch.

The two countries also differ in technical approach. SpaceX's Falcon 9 relies on a deployable landing legs and lands autonomously on a ground pad or a recovery ship at sea; China's system uses four landing hooks that catch a large recovery net suspended from a sea platform.

Chen Muyi, a rocket technology expert from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told Xinhua that this net‑based recovery method helps simplify the rocket’s structure, reduce vehicle weight, and increase launch payload capacity, while also offering greater tolerance to landing‑site deviations.

Several independent space analysts noted that, although Friday’s recovery test was significant, China still needs to clear several key hurdles to prove it truly masters reusable‑rocket technology. Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield posted on Platform X, calling it a new method for successfully capturing a reusable rocket. He said that even though black smoke was pouring from the booster’s top, the interlaced steel‑wire net on the ship successfully captured the Long March 10 launch vehicle for the first time, eliminating the need for a heavy landing‑leg structure.

Alice Shereel, an analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, wrote in a written response to a Voice of America interview that the test is an important step for China toward a mission‑ready, fully reusable rocket, but the more critical question is how quickly China can refurbish the recovered booster and return it to the launch pad for the next mission—this is the key metric that determines whether the rocket is truly reusable.

Shereel said the United States still maintains a clear advantage because it has been operating reusable rockets for years and has successfully scaled them for a wide range of satellite launches, especially the deployment of low‑Earth‑orbit broadband constellations. She noted that China’s ability to rapidly replicate and expand the use of recovered boosters will determine how competitively it can match U.S. launch providers. She added that Friday was undoubtedly a significant day in the U.S.–China space race, but China still has a long way to go to truly catch up in the global space economy, and this experiment is only the first step of that journey.

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Institute, expressed a similar view. In a post on Platform X he said that the successful recovery of the Long March rocket’s first stage is a major advance for China, but it does not necessarily mean China is ready to compete with SpaceX. He pointed out that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 does not rely on complex structures or recovery nets when retrieving its first‑stage booster and has been doing so for years. Once in operation, SpaceX’s super‑heavy boosters are captured by their launch towers after launch, maximizing launch cadence and minimizing the delay between flights.

Before Friday’s successful test, China had already experienced several failures. Last year, private rocket firm LandSpace and the state‑owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation both attempted the final, most technically challenging step of rocket recovery, but neither succeeded.

Beijing has designated reusable rockets as a national priority and relaxed listing rules for related companies to help commercial rocket firms raise capital. The Chinese government views the technology as essential to supporting the rapid expansion of commercial satellite constellations, which are seen as potential competitors to the U.S. Starlink system. In addition, the Long March 10 is part of China’s crewed lunar‑rocket family, with a goal of achieving a crewed lunar landing before 2030.

In numerical terms, China still faces a substantial challenge in narrowing the gap with the United States. So far China has completed only one successful recovery, while SpaceX has performed hundreds of booster reuses; China plans only one reuse this year, whereas SpaceX’s reuse cadence approaches once per week. Whether China can close this gap and how quickly it can catch up will shape the next phase of the U.S.–China space competition. Beijing has explicitly framed this competition as an effort to break the United States’ dominant position in the aerospace sector.

China announced on Friday a temporary export ban on helium, effective immediately. The outside world generally believes that the renewed US‑Iran war has caused a helium supply shortage, and this should be a self‑protective measure by Beijing. However, analysts also say the ban highlights the importance for Asian semiconductor‑producing countries and the United States to quickly resolve supply‑chain security issues.

The report says Chinese officials have recently informed companies such as Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepQuest that they may soon be allowed to purchase some H200 chips. The Information Daily reports that Beijing is still determining the exact number of Nvidia chips to approve, possibly fewer than 200,000 units.

The H200 is one of Nvidia's more advanced AI chips launched in November 2023, second in performance only to the top‑tier chip, and is widely used for large‑scale artificial‑intelligence computing. For Chinese tech firms, such chips can help lower the cost of running large models and AI applications and improve commercial deployment capability.

However, the H200 has been subject to control by both the US and Chinese governments. On the one hand, Washington controls exports through licensing; on the other, Beijing decides through import approvals whether Chinese companies can purchase them. On January 13 this year, the Trump administration formally approved the export of H200 chips to China, green‑lighting sales to the Chinese market, but China has been slow to act and has instead pushed domestic firms to use locally produced chips from Huawei, Cambricon and others.

Hudson Institute senior researcher Xu Yuren told Voice of America that Beijing originally tried to use administrative guidance to pull large‑model companies such as Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepQuest out of the Nvidia ecosystem and shift them to domestic solutions, but now Beijing is allowing these firms limited H200 purchases, which itself shows that domestic substitution has not yet fully met performance, supply, software ecosystem and cluster‑stability requirements.

Xu said the core bottleneck is not just whether a single AI chip can be made, but whether it can be manufactured at large scale, stably and at low cost, and deployed as a system capable of training frontier models.

According to the US supplemental conditions for selling H200 chips to China, the chips must be evaluated by a third‑party testing lab before they are authorized for shipment to China to confirm AI performance. In addition, exports to China may not exceed 50% of the total chips granted to US customers, and the export must not affect US domestic orders or the production capacity of advanced chips.

Xu told VOA that the US tech community will certainly have concerns, but the real worry is not a single H200 chip, but whether China can combine restricted chips, domestic chips, power, data centers and open‑source models into a scale advantage. The US is not only worried that China might train the next GPT, but also that China could embed AI capabilities broadly across industry, defense and social governance, and develop large‑scale AI engineering capacity. Once China attains that capability, the US AI advantage would be significantly eroded.

At the time of publication, Nvidia had not responded to VOA's request for comment.

Two leaders of US congressional committees that focus on China have called on the Trump administration to investigate the alleged vandalism of a June Fourth memorial museum in California and urged law‑enforcement agencies to strengthen action against China's transnational repression activities.

Chris Smith, co‑chair of the House China Committee, and John Mueller, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, jointly wrote to Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday, requesting the Justice Department investigate the recent vandalism of the June Fourth Massacre Memorial in El Monte, California, and assess whether the incident involves transnational repression.

Early last month, the memorial issued a statement saying unknown individuals illegally entered the site, damaged some exhibits, interfered with the surveillance system, and sprayed paint on main exhibition areas and parts of the walls, causing serious property loss. The incident occurred just days before the 37th anniversary of the June Fourth event.

The two representatives urged the Justice Department, including the FBI Los Angeles field office, to work closely with local law‑enforcement agencies to investigate whether the vandalism is linked to the Chinese Communist Party or individuals supporting the CCP's overseas suppression of dissent.

Republican Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey and Republican Representative Mueller of Michigan said the June Fourth memorial preserves undeniable historical truth about the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident, which the Chinese Communist Party has long tried to deny and cover up. They called on the Justice Department to take the incident seriously and determine whether it is more than a routine act of vandalism.

The lawmakers wrote that destroying the museum cannot erase the memory of the events of June 4, 1989, nor conceal the crimes the CCP has committed against those who call for freedom and democracy. If the investigation finds that individuals or groups acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party were involved, it would constitute not only an attack on the memorial but also a threat to free speech, historical memory, and the personal safety of Chinese democratic activists residing in the United States.

They emphasized that the United States should ensure that survivors, dissidents, and Chinese communities can freely express their views in an environment without fear, without threats or intimidation from foreign governments. The lawmakers argue that the Chinese Communist Party has long suppressed overseas critics through transnational repression, and that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation should thoroughly investigate the vandalism of the memorial hall to protect the legal rights of Chinese communities seeking freedom in the United States and those openly criticizing the CCP.

The two legislators also referenced several recent incidents in California in their letter, including the vandalism and surveillance of the Freedom Sculpture Park and the sculpture by artist Chen Weiming, the violence and intimidation faced by anti‑CCP demonstrators during the 2023 APEC summit in San Francisco, and the federal indictment and guilty plea of former Arcadia mayor Wang Ailing for allegedly acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.

Smith and Mulner stated in the letter that these incidents reflect a concerning trend emerging in California and raise questions about whether local law‑enforcement agencies have sufficient training, resources, and capacity to address them.