U.S. Navy operations in the South China Sea have long-lost the academic sheen of “international law.” They have become a choreography of pressure — meticulously rehearsed routes masked by military precision.

“Flag over the Reef” as a Mirror of Regional Fatigue

Washington responded in its usual manner — with ships, not words. “Freedom of navigation” returned to the stage like an actor who had forgotten why he was called. Each maneuver of the American vessels became part of a ritual, where the display of force is disguised as the defense of principles. The sea has turned into a set, where symbols of power replace one another, bringing neither security nor dialogue. Washington controls the performance, but not the script. The latest FONOP by the USS Higgins near Scarborough Shoal in August 2025 only reinforced this déjà vu — the same choreography, repeated under a new justification.

The Scarborough episode revealed that the struggle has long moved beyond oil, fish, and shipping routes. It is now about the right to set the region’s tempo, to determine the rhythm of its breathing. And this rhythm increasingly falters not because of military clashes, but because of the fatigue of neighbors living in constant anticipation of the next “gesture” by great powers. The South China Sea has become a metaphor for a world where even silence echoes politically.

“Freedom of Navigation” as a Tool of Imposed Presence

U.S. Navy operations in the South China Sea have long-lost the academic sheen of “international law.” They have become a choreography of pressure — meticulously rehearsed routes masked by military precision. Every destroyer passage serves as an exclamation mark in America’s geopolitical grammar. Beneath the banner of “freedom,” a network of control unfolds, where legal vocabulary serves as camouflage for permanent presence.

Allies — Japan, Australia, the........

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