US Navy planning ‘show of force’ to warn China
Pacific Fleet readies for war games as tensions boil over in South China Sea

The US Navy’s Pacific Fleet has reportedly drawn up plans for a “global show of force” to serve as a warning to China, according to a report by CNN.
The network claims the fleet is set to carry out a “highly focused and concentrated set of exercises involving US warships, combat aircraft and troops” for a week during November.
The report follows an incident earlier this week in the South China Sea, when a Chinese destroyer, Lanzhou, came within 41 metres of an American destroyer, the USS Decatur.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
US Naval officials deemed the close call “unsafe and unprofessional”, condemning China for making what it said was a deliberately provocative manoeuvre.
The Straits Times notes that while “close encounters between US and Chinese forces are hardly unprecedented”, this week’s close call and the leak of plans for a show of force by the US is likely to cause tensions between Washington and Beijing to rise to their highest in years.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
September 4 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include Donald Trump hiding in the Oval Office and Jeffrey Epstein survivors
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month