A US warship directly entered the waters near the Nansha Islands for the first time to take up a station, after which the Southern Theater Command issued a statement on the matter.
According to comments, two U.S. aircraft carriers have suddenly been dispatched from the Middle East to East Asia, to be deployed around the South China Sea and the First Island Chain, with one of them already in position, creating military pressure on China.
Commercial satellite imagery provider Vantor released images showing new facilities near Linyang Reef in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on August 17, sparking speculation about potential military use.
On August 8, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott issued a statement condemning China for advancing its South China Sea expansion claims under the pretext of environmental and legal grounds and by means of coercion, saying that the United States stands together with its ally, the Philippines.
The Southern Theater Command conducted joint sea and air exercises near Scarborough Shoal, while the coast guard simultaneously organized rights defense law enforcement and control drills.
On July 24, Chinese Coast Guard ships fired water cannons and carried out dangerous close approaches against a Philippine government vessel near Scarborough Shoal, at one point coming within only 7 meters of the Philippine ship; the day before, a Philippine government vessel had also been hit by Chinese Coast Guard water cannons for more than two minutes.
On July 20, the Chinese and Philippine coast guards clashed near Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippine side accused Chinese personnel of using clubs in an attack that injured a Filipino service member; the China Coast Guard responded that Philippine personnel rammed Chinese vessels and used clubs and oars to attack Chinese personnel.
On July 20, a violent clash broke out between Chinese and Filipino sides in the waters near Second Thomas Shoal, and a Philippine Navy sailor was wounded by Chinese personnel.
The U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington strike group passed through the Bashi Channel into the South China Sea, deterring the Chinese Communist Party military.
The Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to conduct combat readiness patrols in the territorial waters and airspace of Scarborough Shoal and the surrounding maritime and air areas, maintaining stability in the southern defense zone.
Amid tensions with China in the South China Sea, the Philippines has opened bases close to Taiwan to U.S. military deployment, in response to the security situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Two US aircraft carriers are returning from the Middle East theater to East Asia, one of which is the USS Abraham Lincoln, and the other is the USS Tripoli. The return route passes through the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, with plans to deploy in the South China Sea and near the First Island Chain close to Japan and South Korea, respectively. Previously, the US typically maintained a long-term deployment of one aircraft carrier in East Asia, while the Middle East remains a theater of war requiring protection in the Strait of Hormuz; therefore, the simultaneous return of two carriers is viewed as an unusual military movement.
In October 1976, the operation to arrest the Gang of Four inside Zhongnanhai was carried out by the Central Guard Regiment (Unit 8341), with Zhang Yaoci leading dozens of guard soldiers to carry it out; at the time Wang Dongxing concurrently served as director of the CCP Central Committee General Office and head of the Guard Bureau.
In 1974, the Chinese navy fought the South Vietnamese navy and seized control of the Paracel Islands.