The United States maintained a high-intensity military presence in the South China Sea and surrounding areas in 2025, with close-in reconnaissance, joint exercises and alliance-based operations increasing notably despite military pressures in other regions, according to a report released on Friday.
The annual report, issued by the Beijing-based South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, found that although the US Navy and Air Force faced constraints because of tensions in the Middle East and other theaters, Washington sustained a strong military presence in and around the South China Sea.
Military experts said the findings suggest that US operations are aimed not only at maintaining a regional presence, but also at strengthening deterrence, intelligence collection, alliance coordination and battlefield preparation.
The initiative, which has published annual assessments based on open-source data since 2019, said US military activities targeting China in the South China Sea have risen sharply since 2009.
The study found that US military operations showed mixed trends in 2025. Activities by carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, ocean surveillance ships and bombers showed signs of fatigue, largely because of deployments to global hotspots and constraints on US manufacturing, particularly shipbuilding capacity. The frequency of so-called "freedom of navigation" operations also declined.
