The United States identified securing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, the Black Sea, and the South China Sea as a top priority for the October 2026 G20 foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta

Since February 28, 2026, the crisis has escalated from military confrontation into a sustained disruption of one of the world's most critical energy shipping routes. Restricted traffic, higher insurance costs, and mounting pressure on oil and LNG flows had turned the standoff into a broader global shipping and market shock. Iran said it attacked two U.S. vessels and eight tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, describing the action as retaliation for U.S. strikes on Iranian shipping. Washington denied that American warships had been hit. The competing attacks have further reduced commercial traffic through the strait and increased the risks faced by neutral vessels and their crews.

The overlapping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea, principally between China and Southeast Asian states including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, encompassing disputed islands, reefs and shoals, and the naval, coastguard and diplomatic confrontations arising from them.